Konoha's Hidden Dragon Clan
by Aninene the Fox Demon
Summary: What would have happened if Konoha's most elite Ninja force, The Dragon Clan, got involved in the events of Naruto. The tale begins at the start of the anime. NarutoxOC WARNING: First four chapters contain strong cannon!
1. Enter Uzumaki Naruto!

**Enter Uzumaki Naruto!**

**Graduation and the Eye of the Dragon Clan!**

_A forgotten or perhaps never recorded legend from long ago speak of fierce battles between several of the most prominent Shinobi clans in existence. Elite mercenaries for hire with strength unmatched for several decades. At some point, three of these unrivaled mercenaries marched off their battlefields to engage in repeat alliances and brotherly fighting._

_It all started more than eighty years ago. The world was engulfed in a constant state of war and bloodshed. Typical of that, countries clashed time and time again in pursuit of ever increasing power and the expansions of their own respective territories. In those times, ninjas, a type of samurai who had forsaken all manners of honor and ethics to gain further power, were merely individual clans for hire acting as armed militia._

_Each of which readily would fight for a country provided that the price was right. Among them, three stood out as the strongest by far. The Uchiha Clan, warrior elites with unmatched control over fire based abilities, unique chakra signatures and the much coveted Sharingan eyes. The Senjuu Clan of the Forest, masters of earth and water based manipulation further backed by enormous amounts of physical strength and chakra control. Then there was the Ryuuoh Clan, brilliant tacticians with mastery of hellish Ninjutsu techniques of unmatched destructive force, all backed by incredible speeds._

_However, even among the three clans themselves, individual members were exceptionally gifted with a whole new level of talent. Of them where Uchiha Madara, the founder of the Uchiha Clan who broke power barriers with chakra that far exceeded any recorded limits. Senjuu Hashirama, the founder of the Senjuu Clan and only known member capable of using the scared Mokuton style of Ninjutsu. Then there was Vaugh Yeblin, the founder of the Ryuuoh Clan and only man successfully capable of summoning the uncontrollable Dragon Lord._

_Each men of promising ideals and dreams bitterly waged contests against one another for many years to come. Then, though the reason was never made known, the three come together as a whole and gave birth to Konohagakure no Sato. Convinced that together they would strive under a peaceful existence, neither group had any idea how the actions of their leaders would affect the future to come. Neither save for those three historical men holding kunai behind their backs as they shook hands…_

* * *

Konohagakure was a ninja village of the highest stature in the warm seasoned lands of Fire Country. More often than not, the Village Hidden in the Leaves had been hailed as both a mother of mercenary wunderkind and a home of glorified head hunters. Otherwise known most commonly as Shinobi. Depending on whom one listened to, many could argue that Konohagakure was by far the best Shinobi village in existence.

Not surprisingly, there are thousands of rumors surrounding the innumerous exploits of the Leaf and the vast array of clans that inhibit her walls. Most invariably involving the unexplained or outright unbelievable. Especially those of an elite among elites group residing beyond her walls yet still fully aligned with her. All of which are carefully guarded secrets in which none are ever available for comment.

Consequently, Konohagakure no Sato continues to be the focus of much wild speculation, ire, resentment, praise and intense debate worldwide. Idealized and vilified in equal douses of measure, the Leaf is perhaps one of the most fascinating and enigmatic sites of our times.

Naturally, for such a promising village to exist and strive under the weight of the dark secrets it carries just as much as the good ones, a certain sense of order must be maintained. Without that order, the entire foundation would have fallen apart at the stems. However, as is expected in anyplace where people may live, there are those who derive pleasure in healthy bouts of chaos just as readily as peace.

Commonly called the bane of Konoha and resident pariah, said person was currently up to mischief as usual. Dashing at above average speeds down the peaceful streets of the sun bathed village was a twelve year old boy with hair of the brightest blond. The young menace and prank loving terror was clad in a blindingly bright orange and blue two piece jumpsuit.

Since he currently had his jacket tied around his waist by the sleeves, nothing barred the plain black T-shirt he wore from view. Taking up residence atop his untamed locks of spiked feathery hair were a set of green goggles of a decent quality. The eyepiece that would have hid his shiny orbs of the brightest blue served as a very special symbolic meaning for the lanky child in question.

The bright eyes, and general addition to the loud color theme he seemed to favor, were rather complimentary companions to the vulpine stripes on either of his cheeks. Lastly, his choice in footwear extended to a popular set of sandals that were near universally worn these days.

Uzumaki Naruto was his name. The self proclaimed future Hokage of the Leaf, master prankster and ally of ramen chefs with super cute daughters everywhere. Just a simple minded, fun loving good guy really. To be completely honest, most people wouldn't have paid the kid much attention had he been someone else. However, this particular boy was not only notorious for his nonstop stream of pranks but also due to something that easily fell into the aforementioned darker secrets category.

It didn't help his case any that he was currently carrying a bucket of paint on his person with a grin that screamed naughty. Rather it just drew the disapproving eye of everyone nearby even more. Lastly, to complete this nearly comical treat to the eyes, a duo of flustered men where chasing after the kid.

Both men, who looked to be in their twenties, wore the standard issued apparel of the higher ranking ninjas serving the village. That being a set of navy blue pants with matching long sleeved shirts. Included were a pair of padded lime green jackets with several pockets embedded in the material. As something of a personal effect, they had applied several layers of bandage wrappings to their legs with small tool carrying pouches fastened to the wrappings.

The most important accessory by far were the addition of blue cloth secured to their heads upon which sat a shiny slab of metal with a leaf symbol carved in the exact center. These unique headbands differed from village to village and weren't so much for fashion as they were to signify one's alliances to the village in which they served. In this case, Konoha.

A nice effect that surely would give the wearer a sense of belonging. However, at the moment, the men were wishing frantically that the ordinary piece of metal had some special means of capturing misbehaving children instead.

The boy's jacket swayed in the breeze with each step he took and he couldn't help but laugh at the helplessness of his pursuers. It seemed that no matter how fast the men ran, the semi-developed ninja in training would always be quicker.

"Naruto you little troublemaker! Today is the day your mischief ends!" shouted one of the men huffing and puffing after him.

"Yeah! You're not going to get away with it anymore!" bellowed the other while brandishing a fist Naruto's back.

Not going to get away with it they say. Hah! These goons had a better chance of blindsiding somebody's grandmother than ever laying a finger on him. Thoroughly enjoying the attention, and ultimately the release his handiwork had net him, Naruto gleefully laughed some more before he leaped upon the rooftop of a shop in an impressive display of aerobics and leg muscle strength.

Naruto's pursuers followed suit and in a speedy blur of rapid motion the trio begun leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Feats made possible by Uzumaki Naruto since he was the future Hokage, dammit!

"Shut up!" replied the evasive boy to the men's treats as he leaped back to the ground with a laugh.

The men followed right on Naruto's tail and the potentially endless chase continued…

* * *

In the biggest building in Konoha by far, an elderly man was carefully practicing his calligraphy skills upon a large piece of stationery using a brush covered in ink. Lightly sucking on an old fashioned pipe as he worked, the senior was convinced that absolutely nothing would spoil his day. Sarutobi Sasuke was his time worn name. A man of completely gray hair with several age spots covering his still, in his humble opinion, handsome face. Beneath his brown eyes were stripes similar to those upon Naruto's cheeks. Coincidental? Perhaps.

The man was also ironically wearing a bright orange kimono with grayish brown kimono pants. Surely not every ninja in the village had such quirky taste in loud clothing. For cry it out loud the man was the Hokage! The professor and local Jutsu geek of the village. As well as the current caretaker of the multipurpose estate building in which he was currently working. He just happened to be wearing orange because he felt like it today.

Ah yes. The Jutsu geek. A title with a pretty nice ring to it.

Wanted to know about a particular combination of Jutsu or the elemental composition that made it up? Sarutobi was your man. If one where capable of asking the deceased Shodai Hokage how his Mokuton techniques worked, he would have probably shrugged and said something to the effect of 'fuck if I know.' Now, take this same scenario and add the Third to the question and you'll probably end up with an earful of theories and facts showing how the manipulation of water combined with the manipulation of earth would do so and so or such and such. All of which would be extrapolated in great detail with the Sandaime wearing a somewhat disturbingly gleeful grin on his face best pulled off by a bookworm.

Needless to say, the man wasn't known as the Professor for nothing being a Jutsu freak long before the Great Shinobi Wars started. Either way, it was utter foolishness to regard the man as a bookworm. The man was a vicious fighter after all with unquestioned wisdom and an uncanny talent of blending god knows how many disparate elemental attacks into a nightmarish whole.

Regardless, the room Sarutobi chose to occupy at the moment was a spacious study that he often frequented when he didn't want to be disturbed. The interior of the room was painted in a dull yellow that fitted the mood rather well. The walls themselves displayed several scrolls upon which words of great wisdom, written in Japanese text, silently hung. Most of the scrolls were written by Sarutobi himself with the purpose of passing on knowledge to those who willingly sought it wherever they went.

The floor was made of highly polished wood that shone brightly in the sunlight filtering in through a nearby window. The normally cleared floor was also cluttered with several more blank scrolls as well as two large wooden jars filled with fine writing ink. One section of the floor rose in an elevated staircase that was covered in a velvet reddish colored carpet. Sarutobi himself was kneeling upon this carpet with his scroll carefully propped up against the wall upon a piece of canvas.

He had just completed his last expert stroke when a ninja of the Leaf, dressed like the other two who were currently chasing Naruto, appeared out of thin air it seemed.

"Hokage-sama, we have a problem!" urgently reported the intruding ninja in a annoyed tone the village in general reserved just for blond haired pranksters.

"What? Did Naruto do something again?" surmised the Sandaime Hokage with a knowing glance.

"Yes, he just vandalized the stone faces of the Hokages," replied the somewhat peeved ninja with a hopeless shrug.

A mere glance out Sarutobi's nearby window exposed, sure enough, four paint covered stone faces that stood as the pride of Konohagakure. Before the ridiculous makeover the statues underwent, each face proudly displayed the greatest Konoha ninjas that ever lived. Sarutobi's own face was among them forever preserving the days of his youth. Though currently there was a bright orange booger painted under his nose along with some rather tasteful pirate scars in the old man's opinion, thank you very much. Hell, it was better than the ridiculous clown face the boy had painted the last time he pulled this stunt.

"_A monument to the greatest ninjas in Konoha reduced to a child's plaything,_" thought Sarutobi as he sighed in resignation to shorting out another of Naruto's pranks before chuckling.

The kid just wasn't going to give an old man a break. Sure Sarutobi could appreciate a good joke from time to time. Anyone would after years of dealing with the stiffs that served as his personal council. But, it was starting to get out of hand these days. That said, the Third couldn't help but to commend the boy. For Kami's sake, the child had not only scaled the rocky surface without the use of chakra but had done so in broad daylight weighted down by heavy buckets of paint. Add in the fact that he pretty much remodeled the entire structure without once being noticed until the very end and Konohagakure's bane had more or less screamed to the whole village that he was a real prodigy. Nothing like those arrogant brats who were called such simply because they had a little bit of talent using their bloodline limits.

The young man had skills. Sarutobi could already tell that Uzumaki Naruto would prove quite the asset to the unfair village he resided in one day. Surely in the near future…

* * *

The two men were still chasing Naruto, or so they thought.

"He went this way!" shouted one of the men as he and his partner rounded a corner.

Once the faint cry of the two pursuing ninjas faded completely, Naruto removed his camouflage covering. Clever use of a basic concealment tactic had allowed him to elude the frustrated ninjas with textbook perfection!

"Too easy," bragged Naruto to himself with a hearty laugh.

In his moment of victory, Naruto never saw the figure standing behind him coming.

"Hey, Naruto!" bellowed an enraged ninja with long brown hair tied in a gravity defying ponytail.

He had tan skin with a shallow scar running horizontally across his face. Like the other ninjas he too wore the same standard issued Jounin to Chuunin apparel.

Naruto jumped maybe a good five feet into the air in fright. At the same time he released a short lived scream of surprise before falling on his butt. Looking back up, the Jinchuuriki bore witness to the academically feared Demon Head technique that Iruka-sensei was infamous for among his students. His oversized cranium returned to normal size soon enough, allowing the scarred man to properly glare at his prank loving seito.

Getting over his initial Demon Head scare, Naruto's expression became a tad indignant at being caught so soon and from behind to boot.

"What are you doing all of a sudden, Iruka-sensei!?" demanded Naruto in annoyance once he recovered from his fright enough to fold his arms.

"What are _you_ doing before class!? Not only did you miss most of the lecture, but you're pulling those stupid pranks again!?" countered Iruka with emphasis on the word you. "When are you going to learn how to use your talents in a responsible manner, Naruto?" the scarred instructor resumed in full lecture mode.

"Yah, yah, it's not my fault that the history of hand signs and their founders is the most boring class lecture on the planet!" started Naruto while staring sullenly at Iruka and picking his nose.

The blond was already tired of being yelled at. He had certainly gotten his fill of it for the day.

The boy's dismissive attitude towards the dreaded subject of 'studying' only served to summon a small vein in the schoolteacher's temple.

"Ugh, you're impossible, Naruto! The purpose of studying is not only to expand your knowledge but to supply you with a full understanding of your profession and the multitude of basic skills that makes it up. Simply knowing the origins of a given art is half of the battle and most importantly, it will allow for improvising on the field. Something you _will _have to do time and time again in order to survive."

Their was no way Iruka could explain it any clearer than that. The stated words were a lesson speaking strictly from personal experience. Something he had been trying to pound into the boy's head for three years now. Naturally the mother hen in Iruka was praying to whatever gods that existed out there that Naruto would miraculously listen to him for once.

For a moment, it looked as if a breakthrough were beginning to establish when Naruto scrunched up his face in contemplative thought. Sadly, the blond had pushed the crucial piece of information somewhere to the back of his mind, yet again, after deciding that all the thinking was making his brain hurt. Having nothing to say about the lesson, Naruto could only sigh at the punishment he knew was coming later. After picking himself up off the ground Naruto did the only thing he would willingly think of when in the presence of an adult. He made a break for it!

Iruka merely sighed at Naruto's stupidity and reached into his pouch. In one fluid motion, Iruka withdrew and twirled a long coil of wire above his head. Once he build up enough momentum Iruka hurled it at Naruto's feet, effectively binding his legs together. Before the retreating Naruto had any idea what happened, he fell flat on his face. Quickly Iruka pounced and proceeded to tie up the struggling blond with some rope he had on hand for just such an occasion. Once Iruka was satisfied he gave a sharp tug on a length of the binding material and Naruto, who pouted slightly, was escorted by Iruka to the academy…

* * *

The ninja academy was an aged building that had been build some fifty or sixty years ago. The exterior was painted completely in white with the exception of the front door, which was a fading red. Directly above the door was the Japanese symbol for Fire Country in which Naruto resided. Even higher above that was the familiar leaf symbol that honored the Hidden Village of Konoha not unlike how a national flag would. As far as Naruto could see, there were no windows and the only hint of a play area was an old wooden swing tied to a nearby tree.

Upon arrival Iruka immediately took Naruto to class, much to the blond haired youth's embarrassment. The classroom was, for the most part, plain with the exception of a few scrolls that adjoined the wall and a large chalkboard. The remainder of the room was filled with row upon row of tables perched upon steadily elevating platforms. These tables were filled with chattering students around Naruto's age that fell quite when the classroom door opened. The minute the class saw Naruto's predicament they all burst into laughter causing Naruto's cheeks to flush with heat. The humiliation didn't end there. Once Iruka got the class to quite down, save for the occasional snicker, he immediately pointed out one of Naruto's biggest regrets.

"Listen up Naruto, you failed the last final exam and the exam before that. You shouldn't be fooling around like that. If you have time to pull pranks then why not use that energy to further your ninja training and studies?" stated Iruka bluntly.

Never one to sit through a lecture, Naruto turned his nose up at Iruka's for coming rant. A vein begun to throb in Iruka's temple and he immediately tried a new tactic. Iruka turned to face the class with the danger signs of the fearsome Demon Head technique giving fair warning not to interrupt him.

"Fine then! We're going to have a review quiz for the transformation technique! Those who already passed will have to line up as well!" declared Iruka suddenly.

A declaration that may as well have been an order for the class to run a marathon in their opinion.

"WHAT!?" groaned the class in unison at the injustice of it all coupled with the bangs of heads slamming on desks.

A dangerous eye twitch from Iruka-sensei quickly brought about the rapid scrapping of chairs and shuffle of feet as the class hastened to follow their instructions. Once the students were properly lined up, Iruka undid Naruto's bindings so that he could line up as well.

"Alright then. Now do we have any volunteers?" asked Iruka with a clearly satisfied smile, earning Naruto several glares from his peers.

They were short lived and almost immediately, a hand shot into the air belonging to a cute girl with long pink hair and emerald green eyes. The girl was dressed in a rose colored outfit with a red ribbon tied on her head. She also was wearing navy blue shorts and open toed sandals. Her shapely legs and arms where the only things she didn't have covered in an effort to augment whatever sex appeal she thought she possessed.

"Haruno Sakura going!" stated the girl as she clashed her hands together with a frown of concentration to form a basic hand sign. "Henge!"

A cloud of smoke enveloped her right then and there. When the smoke cleared, standing in Sakura's place was an identical copy of Iruka-sensei! Elementary and infrequently used in the field, the technique was indeed still impressive and not too badly executed by the pink haired girl.

"Okay, well done," commented the real Iruka with a nod of approval before he made a mark on his clipboard.

"I did it!" cheered the overzealous kunoichi as if the task had been something extremely difficult.

It probably was. Nonetheless, it was still rather bizarre to see an Iruka look-alike bouncing girlishly on the balls of his/her feet. Eventually, the transformed Sakura was once again enveloped in a cloud of smoke as she reverted to her original form.

The pink haired girl turned towards a boy in the audience with a cheerful smile.

"Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?" she asked happily.

The boy in question was a serious looking youth with spiky black 'duck butt' hair and black eyes. He was clothed in a dark blue open collar shirt with a half white and half red fan symbol on the back. He also wore white shorts that extended pass his knees. Added to the mix were white arm guards with blue edges and open toed sandals. The fan on Sasuke's back was an insignia for Konoha's Uchiha clan, a group of adept fire and Doujutsu users.

Sasuke didn't bother to answer or even acknowledge Sakura's question since Iruka begun to announce the next student's name.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you're next."

Wordlessly, Sasuke moved into position in full view of the class and performed the same simple hand seal as Sakura. Likewise the earlier results were repeated exactly, minus the creepy dance that no one should ever have had to see.

"All right," acknowledged the real Iruka with another nod of approval as Sasuke transformed back to normal and went to extend the pass line behind a irritatingly lovey-dovey Sakura.

The Uchiha boy's prominent scowl did not go unmissed by most of the class as he pointedly tuned out an oblivious Sakura's steady stream of ramblings and compliments. Save for a few dozen members from the female half of the group, anyone present would have testified to the Uchiha heir's stuck up attitude towards others. There was certainly a lot to comment on concerning the icy headcase, yet it wasn't as if voicing them would really do much about it either.

Mentally shrugging, Iruka surveyed his clipboard once more and after making some notes called out the next student.

"Next up, Uzumaki Naruto."

Before Naruto moved into position two of his peers standing near him begun to complain.

"This sucks," grumbled a boy with a long gravity defying ponytail.

The boy was wearing a net shirt with dark brown pants and a grayish colored jacket with green edges. This was Nara Shikamaru of Konoha's Nara Clan, a group of medical experts and shadow users.

"This is all your fault," chimed in a pretty girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

The girl was wearing a revealing one piece purple dress with a wide collar. This was somewhat remedied by several bandages wrapped around her legs. She also wore white arm guards with purple edges and open toed sandals. This girl was Yamanaka Ino of Konoha's Yamanaka Clan, a family of floweriest and mind manipulation technique users.

"Like I care," replied Naruto with an annoyed frown on his face.

Quickly Naruto strode into position to attempt the simple Jutsu. Just a single hand sign and amateurish chakra manipulation would do, right? Unfortunately nothing was ever simple or to be expected when Uzumaki Naruto was involved. After all, Shinobi strived on the unexpected and Naruto had it in bulks.

With a look of concentration Naruto's bluish chakra begun to swirl around him and he too vanished in a poof of smoke. However, rather than the Iruka form that everyone was expecting, Naruto assumed the form of a perky and gorgeous blonde haired girl with blue eyes. The girl wore her hair in two long pig tails and like Naruto had stripes on her cheeks. Naruko, as the creator had fondly dubbed his knockout counterpart lacked only a few things. Specifically clothing. However, as the smoke hadn't cleared yet certain well proportioned visuals remained hidden from sight.

Naruko gave a seductive moan and winked in Iruka's direction before blowing him a very _sexy _kiss. The act was all that was required to tickle the instinctive reactions of a typical male. Iruka's mouth dropped open in pure shock before a heavy spray of blood begun spurting from his nose. All of the guys in the classroom underwent similar bouts of nosebleeds, save suspiciously for one Uchiha Sasuke, while the girls merely blushed at the open display of their feminine anatomy. Naruto then transformed back to normal and broke up into crazed laughter.

"How was that? I call it the Dynamically Amazing Sexy Jutsu!" cried Naruto between laughter.

Iruka quickly stuck two Q-tips up his heavily gushing nose and seemed besides himself with fury. The ultimate horror of the true Demon Head Master Move was revealed in an instant, though the Q-tips ruined the effect.

"You idiot! Don't invent such a dumb technique!" screamed Iruka as loudly as he could while flushing at the fact that he had been turned on by a male wearing a very convincing illusion.

Naruto had a feeling the his punishment was only going to get worse after class was over…

* * *

"Damn it, Damn it!" groaned Naruto for what felt like the hundredth time that evening.

Iruka had been quite forceful with his punishment by ordering Naruto to scrub the paint job he did that morning off of the Hokage monument by hand. It had been three hours since he started and he still had two more statues to go. Luckily for him the paint was still wet or else the job might have taken much longer.

"You're not going home until you clean it up good," yelled Iruka from atop the statue Naruto was cleaning.

"I don't care, no one's waiting for me at home anyway!" countered Naruto a bit closer to home than he would've liked to admit to anybody.

It wasn't a secret that Naruto had been orphaned since birth but his lack thereof memories about his birth parents had always been a sore topic with him. Mainly since it reminded him how alone he was in this place.

Iruka gazed at the stubborn ninja for several seconds in silent contemplation before he spoke again, this time in a more gentle tone of voice.

"Naruto…"

"What is it now?" grumbled the still very much irked blond.

"Well, if you clean that up I'll treat you to some ramen tonight," replied Iruka while thoughtfully scratching his chin and looking at the boy as if to say 'what do you think?'

Iruka had said the magic word. At the mention of ramen, Naruto loudly cheered in happiness.

"All right! I'll do my best then!" promised Naruto with a large grin while resuming work with even more energy than before. His troubles momentarily forgotten…

* * *

It was nearing midnight by the time Naruto finished and true to his words, Iruka took Naruto to the most famous ramen shop in Konoha. Ichiraku Ramen was more like a small stand than a shop but the _kami _sent smell of ramen and barbeque more than made up for it. Inside Naruto and Iruka quickly took up seats at one of several stools in front of a bar. The top of the counter was laden with a cup full of chopsticks as well as a salt and pepper shaker and napkin dispenser.

"Good evening boys, what will you be having?" asked the shop's owner and chef, Teuchi.

A rather kind man who looked to be in his late thirties. Teuchi had graying hair and seemed somewhat chubby. He was dressed in a simple robe with baggy gray sweatpants and a sailor's cap. His smile was warm and cheerful as he awaited their orders. Particularly the round of his absolute favorite customer, Naruto. The ramen lord and two years defending champion of the yearly ramen battle royal! Depending on who one listened to, the stories of the ramen guzzling champ often hinted that he could even out eat an Akimichi. They wouldn't have been exaggerating.

Naruto immediately requested his favorite bowl, miso pork ramen with a boiled egg. Iruka simply ordered beef and garlic ramen with sour cream and a fried egg. The successful and popular chef quickly prepared the orders and had his super cute daughter, Ayame, bring out the bowls along with complementary glasses of water.

"Please enjoy your meal!" said Ayame with a golden smile of cuteness best pulled off by 'the girl next door.'

Ayame had light brown hair and brown eyes. Like her father she too wore robes. However, she was wearing plain white pants instead of the baggy gray sweatpants that her father wore. For Naruto, the super cute ramen mistress was pretty much a sister figure to him. Just as much as he was a kid brother to her. Though she often found it hard to keep up with the high speed delivery of his ramen-y goodness during the battle royal competitions, the two were a winning team for two years running.

Naruto took off his goggles and with loud cries of 'Itadakimasu,' the ramen loving duo begun to eat. Midway through the meal, Iruka begun to speak.

"Say Naruto, why do you vandalize the monumental stone anyway? Surely you know who the Hokages are right?" asked Iruka in reference to the freshly cleaned stone faces.

"Of course I do," replied Naruto before draining the broth in his ramen bowl.

After finishing up with a lip-smacking 'ahh' Naruto continued.

"In other word, those who carry the name of Hokage were acknowledged as the number one ninjas in the village right?" asked Naruto thoughtfully. " I hear that the fourth one is a hero who protected the village from a monster fox."

"Then why did you…?" started Iruka before Naruto cut him off.

"I'm going to receive the name of Hokage one day and become greater than any of the Hokages!" stated Naruto with a wink. "Then I'm going to make everyone in the village recognize my powers! That was just my mark to tell everyone that."

Iruka nodded and accepted the idealized if childish explanation. It wasn't like the thought was impossible. Regardless, Naruto turned to Iruka with an expression that could only be described as sly.

"By the way sensei, I have a favor to ask."

"You want another bowl?" guessed Iruka.

"No. I was wondering if maybe I could try on that Konoha forehead protector?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Oh, this?" asked Iruka while grasping the metal of the head guard. "No, this is proof that you graduated school and that you're a real ninja. You'll have to wait until you get yours tomorrow," declined Iruka with a kindly smile.

"Meanie!" moaned Naruto in annoyance.

"Is that why you took your goggles off?" teased Iruka between laughter.

"Hmp! I want another bowl!" demanded Naruto as revenge for Iruka's lack of cooperation.

Iruka only groaned at how hard this was going to be on his wallet and was just about to dig said item out when he noted the sudden expression of melancholy on the boy's face. Piquing the Chuunin's interest, Iruka shifted his position to fully take in the small boy besides him.

"Naruto?"

The boy seemed to stare past his empty bowl for the longest, worrying the mother hen in his sensei the whole while before sighing.

"Say Iruka-sensei, can I ask you to be honest with me?" inquired the sun kissed blond quieter than usual.

Warning bells sounded in Iruka's mind and though Teuchi was tending to a fresh batch of noodles, his posture had stiffened as well. Naruto was never this quite! Hell, quite and Naruto put together was an impossible equation and yet here the boy was defying expectations yet again! Naruto had not earned the title of number one unpredictable Shinobi in training for nothing.

"Ah, of course, Naruto. If I can answer your question I'll always try my best to do so, you know that," consented the brown haired Chuunin without the slightest hesitation.

Anyone else might've been unfair or outright lied to the boy due to complicated reasons and Naruto had picked up on that it seemed. The blond wasn't going to kid himself here. He had known for awhile now that most of his so called academy teachers had purposely been striving to sabotage his growth as a ninja. The most devastating method they could think of to do so was simply to deny him information and to never encourage him to take his potential that extra step further.

That was just it. While dense at times, the boy was fully capable of amazing feats of brilliance. As a result, his true potential was directly affected by the encouragement he was given. Something that Iruka himself could readily testify to and praise the boy for.

Simply put, anytime Naruto felt as if a teacher figure was going out of his way to help him, he would perform whatever task he was given flawlessly! Or at least make a real effort that would bear fruit. In contrast, if he received no encouragement at all he would either do poorly or not bother with the exercise at all in favor of thinking up new pranks. Likewise in any group assignment with his peers, he participated substantially if working with encouraging friends such as Hyuuga Hinata or Akimichi Chouji. It would go in reverse if working with discouraging peers such as Inuzuka Kiba or Uchiha Sasuke.

The whole deal was really simple. When people believed in him, he performed. As such, Naruto easily had the learning potential and talent to develop at unparallel rates if only someone would give him a chance and a little bit of direction. The boy was what many would consider a real genius and he would only continue to improve over time.

Iruka, while strict, openly acknowledged that and made sure that Naruto saw it too. The one true teacher in Naruto's life wouldn't lie. That the boy knew and believed with the depth of his heart.

Naruto nodded and proceeded to speak.

"Just how well suited am I to even be a ninja at this point? I mean, until just last year I didn't even know how to read before you took the time to teach me. I'm the dead last of the class this year and nobody other than you and the old man are even bothering to train me properly. Can I really do this, Iruka-sensei?"

To say that Iruka was speechless was an understatement. Flabbergasted was the most fitting word for hearing the walking well of merit and determination expressing self doubt. It only served to show that despise the inhumanly amount of scorn and vengeful wrath the boy suffered constantly, he did have a limit to how much he could take before he started to believe them. In other words, Naruto was still human.

Human. The truth of that word brought a sad smile to Iruka's face. The source was simply because he knew deep down that Naruto wasn't quite ready to become a ninja. It had nothing to do with his loud nature, choice in bright clothing or ability. For kami's sake the boy had pull off all sorts of off the wall pranks in a ninja village while barely ever being caught and done so while wearing bright orange! No, the problem Naruto had was simply that he needed a lot more work on his basic skills. They truly were a mess.

"Honestly, Naruto, if you would just put a bit more effort into your studies and really practice all of your basic abilities there's no doubt that you'll do just fine. I'm sure you're aware that the most important aspect of anything one might do centers around the basics. Once the basics are mastered than theoretically there is almost nothing you wouldn't be able to apply them to," the academy instructor explained.

Naruto simply nodded in acceptance of the explanation and shifted his gaze to meet Iruka's.

"I thought it might be something like that. In that case, would you help me work on my basic training?" the blond earnestly requested.

His determined gaze, that many women found too cute for their own health, had taken over his facials. Once more the scarred Chuunin nearly freaked out. It was even rarer for Naruto to willingly beseech training when he could've been working on his latest prank instead!

"Well sure Naruto, but are you feeling alright? This has got to be the first time you've ever asked for extra training outside of your usual skirmishes with Sasuke," pointed out the Chuunin while idly noticing Teuchi was beginning to relax just a little.

This got the boy grinning and chuckling.

"Hah, I'll beat Sasuke-teme soon enough, Iruka-sensei! That and I'll show everyone that I will become the best Hokage ever! If a little bit of extra training is all it'll take to get there than I'm game no matter what!"

For emphasis, the boy patted his muscle confidently. The results was a fond smile from his observing teacher and Teuchi as well, though as his back was turned no one could see it. Now this was sounding more like the Naruto they knew.

"Yeah. You most definitely will. And I'll be doing my best to help you get there," encouraged the school teacher.

At this, Naruto grew excited.

"Then you'll…?"

Iruka nodded.

"I can't say that I'll be free all the time but I'm sure I'll be able to work out something with Hokage-sama about additional basic training."

"Yay!" cheered Naruto excitedly, pumping both arms into the air. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei! You're the best!"

Iruka laughed a little at that.

"That he most certainly is," chipped in Teuchi himself, turning around with a smile of his own and two additional bowls of ramen in his hands. "For the training days ahead and good luck for your examination tomorrow, two bowls on the house."

If Naruto was happy before, it quickly multiplied tenfold in the form of a very pleased grin.

"Yeah! Itadakimasu!" exclaimed Naruto before taking the bowl and digging in with gusto…

* * *

Sarutobi gazed upon the rising sun with a smile of anticipation. Today was the day of graduation at Konoha's Ninja academy. A day that had been long awaited by every man, woman and child within the village. On this day, the academy graduates would become Konoha's new Genin level ninjas.

Suddenly, out of thin air, a Leaf ninja appeared. More specifically, a member of the ANBU Black Ops. A special branch of Shinobi that personally serve under direct orders from the Hokage himself. Elites highly skilled in the art of silent homicide among other things.

This one was dressed in a type of gray sleeveless armor with a small ninjato strapped to his back. Reinforced gauntlets and night black pants completed the standard code of dress. All save for one thing. A animal mask to tell one apart from another while at the same time upholding complete secrecy to the identity of the agent. In this case, a lion mask.

"Sandaime-sama, I've come to make a report," stated the visitor.

"Yes, what is it?" asked the Third Hokage.

"The hidden sect has prepared its' three most prized students to attend the academy's graduation exam," vocalized Lion while producing a scroll baring the Dragon Clan's insignia, which was two dragon wings with a fearsome eye peering between them. "Here is a detailed report of the candidates' skills and personal information."

"Ah, excellent," voiced Sarutobi as he took the scroll. "You have my gratitude. Dismissed," ordered the Third and in the blink of an eye the masked ninja was gone.

"It's been quite some time since new candidates from the Ryuuoh Clan took part in the graduation exam. They must be very exceptional students," mused the Hokage to himself while unfurling the scroll…

* * *

"We will now start the final exam," Iruka announced to the class. "If your name is called come to the classroom next door. The subject will be the replication technique."

Naruto's mouth dropped open with shock. Nervously he begun to fidget in his seat like a girl who hadn't used the bathroom in a long time. If there was any technique that he was absolutely terrible with, it was the replication.

"Will miss Domino Shishikura, come to the testing room please?" called Iruka sensei.

There was a few moments of silence before possibly the most beautiful girl Naruto every seen walked towards the testing room. The girl had black, waist-length hair which she wore in a ponytail. Her shining lavender eyes seemed to take on a pleasant, teasing look that complimented her perfect heart-shaped face. She was wearing a dark green jacket with a black T-shirt underneath and a pair of black shorts. Her clothing were fairly loose, but still failed to hide her generous curves.

As if sensing Naruto's stare, she paused in mid-stride and flashed him a gorgeous smile before entering the testing center. Naruto felt his cheeks grow warm and his anxiety was momentarily forgotten.

"_Who was that? I've never seen her before,_" thought Naruto to himself.

Naruto remained in a stupor for several minutes wondering about the mysterious girl until he spotted her again. She emerged from the testing room with a huge grin on her face and in addition to that, she was wearing a shiny new forehead protector! The girl practically skipped back to her seat as everyone begun to applaud for her success. Naruto's nervousness returned in full after that and he grasped his face in dismay. The next student was called into the room but Naruto, in his foreboding thoughts, failed to hear the name of the candidate Iruka summoned.

"A touch nervous are you?" inquired a soft voice next to him.

Naruto turned towards the speaker to find it was a young girl sitting next to him. The girl had dark blue hair that was cut short and seemed a little spiky in appearance. Her peaceful blue eyes seemed able to probe the depth of Naruto's soul which unnerved the blond haired boy to an extend. Despise her piercing gaze, the girl had a serene air about her. She was dressed in a strawberry colored top with a white skirt. She was also wearing two pendants around her neck. One had a blue gem, the other had a green one. She smiled upon seeing Naruto grant her his attention.

"_Who is she? I've never seen her before either,_" thought Naruto to himself in wonder.

Realizing he was rudely staring at her, Naruto hastily answered her question.

"Uh yeah, I guess I am a little bit nervous," admitted the blond.

The blue haired girl nodded before speaking.

"That's to be expected, honestly I'm a bit nervous myself," she said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back, easily recognizing kindness when he saw it, before he extending his hand towards her.

"Hey I'm Uzumaki Naruto. One day I'm going become the new Hokage," declared said boy as he introduced himself.

"Really? That will be great! I'm certain that you'll be able to do it. I'm Elaine Harime," responded the girl while extending her own hand and shaking Naruto's.

Naruto's grin grew broader after the introductions and he seemed quite pleased by Elaine's encouraging words. It was very rare to find someone who offered him any kind of encouragement. Naruto liked the feeling it seemed to bring.

"Yeah, you're right and I'm going to work really hard so that everyone will acknowledge my strength!" bragged Naruto loudly. "By the way where are you from? I don't think I've ever seen you before," asked Naruto curiously.

Elaine grew thoughtful for a moment before responding.

"I'm not really surprised, very few people from the village have ever seen me. Domino too for that matter."

"Huh? Why's that?" asked Naruto.

Elaine's expression grew troubled and she gazed at the floor for a moment before speaking.

"It's complicated, but lets just say I underwent some very special training when I was little and leave it at that," replied Elaine with some hesitation.

"Special training?" repeated a confused Naruto. "_Why's she acting so weird, is there something she's trying to hide?_" he silently thought.

As if sensing Naruto's thoughts, Elaine abruptly changed the subject.

"So Naruto, what do you plan to do after becoming Hokage?"

Naruto's brain when into overdrive after that. In all honesty, he had never really thought about it before. After racking his brain for a moment Naruto finally came to a decision and was just about to speak when…

"Uzumaki Naruto," came Iruka's long awaited call and with a feeling of dread Naruto rose to enter the examination room.

"Hm, lousy timing. Well, this is it. Good luck, Naruto!" said Elaine cheerfully.

"Thanks, Elaine," Naruto somehow managed to say through a cotton dry throat as he headed towards the testing center.

The first thing Naruto noticed upon entering the testing room was a table laden with forehead protectors. The sight only served to remain Naruto of his last two failed attempts and, if it was at all possible, made him even more nervous. Steeling his resolves Naruto stood before the examiner's table. Naruto's examiners turned out to be Iruka who gave Naruto a nod of approval before readying his clipboard. The second was a silvery-blue haired man with black eyes and a warm smile. He too wore the common ninja apparel of the two goons that chased Naruto before. His name was Mizuki.

"Go ahead when you're really," encouraged Mizuki with a kindly smile.

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes in a frown of concentration. Like before, a swirling aura of bluish chakra begun to surround Naruto. He quickly made a hand seal.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto.

There was a poof of smoke and when it cleared Naruto was standing in the same spot as before. However, laying next to him was a rather pitiful imitation of Naruto that looked more like a train ran over it several times. At that point Naruto begun to panic, especially at the sight of Iruka's twitching eyebrow and annoyed look.

"YOU FAIL!" roared Iruka much to the dismay of the blond youth.

"Iruka-sensei, his movement and stamina are good and he did replicate. Maybe we can pass him?" piped in Mizuki drawing a hopeful smile from Naruto.

If Naruto had any hopes of passing the exam, they were quickly dashed by Iruka's next statement.

"Mizuki-sensei, everyone is able to produce at least three replications. But, Naruto can only produce one that will merely be a bother. I cannot pass him," stated Iruka simply.

"I…understand," replied Mizuki before Iruka dismissed Naruto with a wave of his hand.

Naruto was crushed, and left the room feeling both dejected and angry at the harsh true of it all. He had failed for the third year in a row…

* * *

The happy chattering of all the new academy graduates and their equally happy parents seemed to go on for hours. Every single face in sight was lit with a smile that seemed to lift the mood of everyone present. Only one person remained oblivious to the contagious virus of happiness. Naruto sat alone on an old swing set beneath the shadow of a large oak tree. From time to time he would shoot an envious glance at all the students who were talking with their parents. Naruto knew that as an orphan he would most likely never get to experience that kind of happiness and love from any parental figure. Naruto tried to conquer up an image of the parents he never knew but it was no use. With a depressed sigh he resumed watching the crowd in silence.

"It could've been worse you know," came a soft voice from behind Naruto.

He quickly turned around to find Elaine standing behind him. Like everyone else, she was wearing a forehead protector.

"I guess you're right about that," replied Naruto as he resumed watching the crowd with another depressed sigh. "Congratulations," he said after a moment.

"Thank you," she said while leaning against the tree next to Naruto.

The two friends sat quietly like that for a while and Naruto begun to cheer up a bit due to Elaine's company. Elaine seemed to sense Naruto's uplifting sprit and choose that moment to speak.

"I wouldn't have figured you the type to mope Naruto. As a future Hokage, I thought you would've been inspired to train even harder," Elaine voiced her opinion with a smile.

Naruto considered her words for a moment before he too begun to smile.

"Thank you Elaine, you're absolutely right," acknowledged Naruto.

"That's the sprit. I believe in you, Naruto. You know you gave me confidence back there before the exam started," admitted the blue haired girl.

Naruto grinned at that before replying.

"I feel the same way. Your support really helped me out back then," he admitted honestly.

"I'm glad to hear that, Naruto. Which reminds me, you never answered my question from before. What do you plan to do after becoming Hokage?" asked Elaine.

This time Naruto didn't have to think about his answer.

"I'll make sure that nobody has to experience the same childhood I did," replied Naruto in a matter of fact tone.

Elaine's expression softened somewhat and she smiled again.

"Then I look forward to that day very much, Naruto," said Elaine before standing up straight. "I'm sorry but I have to go now. I'll see you around, okay?" she continued sadly.

"Oh, alright. Guess I'll see you later then," replied Naruto with equal sadness.

It never was easy saying goodbye to a friend. Elaine bowed respectfully to Naruto's back before turning and walking away. She took no more than five steps before glancing back.

"Naruto," called Elaine.

The blond turned to see what Elaine wanted. The girl unfastened one of the pendants around her neck and tossed it to Naruto who deftly caught it. The pendant in question was a shining blue gem encaged in a pure silver ring. The ring was secured to a chain that was also made of silver.

"A good luck charm, to help you on your quest to becoming Hokage," spoke Elaine in response to Naruto's surprised look before she resumed walking away.

"_Thank you, Elaine,_" thought Naruto to himself before he fastened the pendant around his neck.

Naruto didn't know it then, but after that moment everything changed. For everyone. But most of all, for himself…

* * *

Iruka lay wide awake in bed that night as he gazed upon the full moon through the glass dome of his ceiling. However, Iruka was gazing pass the moon to his memories of the events of the day. For some time he thought of the disappointed face of Naruto after he had literally robbed the boy of his dream again. Iruka wanted to pass Naruto very much, but he knew in his heart that the boy just wasn't ready yet and that to pass Naruto now would have meant lying to him. Finally Iruka's mind wandered to the conversation he had with the Hokage earlier that afternoon after the exam…

Iruka approached the Hokage's office and quietly steeled himself for the lecture that the Third was going to give him. As expected, upon entry, Iruka found the Hokage reviewing the examination results for the academy graduates. Not wanting to beat around the bush Iruka spoke first.

"You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?" asked Iruka.

The Hokage quietly rolled up the scroll he was reading and took a long drag on his pipe. After exhaling the sweet perfumed scent, Sarutobi spoke.

"I'll get right to the point here, Iruka. I have been watching your interaction with Naruto for some time now. Admittedly, I fully understand how you feel at this point. Naruto grew up without the love of a parent just as you have. The boy has been starved for attention for as long as I can remember. In a way, he's a mirror image of yourself, Iruka. Thus he had to pull those pranks to get everyone's attention. Whatever the form, he wanted someone to recognize the value of his existence. Although he acts tough, Naruto is the one who is having a difficult time," said Sarutobi solemnly.

Iruka mentally kicked himself, the conversation was about Naruto. Hearing the words of the Third roused a memory from last night. A promise Iruka had made to help the boy truly improve as a Shinobi. To say the least, the timing had been perfect.

"Hokage-sama…" begun Iruka only to be silenced by the Third raising a hand into the air.

"I know, Iruka. However, before we address that, pray allow me to continue."

Although it was a simple request, Iruka treated the words of the Sandaime as an order and so nodded his consent. The Third eased back slightly in his chair and pulled open a drawer to rummage in for a moment. His hand came back out with a small black book which he neatly set in front of himself before closing the drawer and grunting slightly as his aging bones creaked with his movement.

One ready, Sarutobi clasped his fingers together on his desk and proceeded to speak.

"I feel that I must tell you this Iruka since you're the only person who has seen Naruto's potential just as I have. I'm sure you recall, but the cause of Naruto's need for recognition is due to the attack of the demon fox that lives within him. Furthermore, because of the nature of the fox's role in that incident, he has been shun and hated for it," continued Sarutobi.

Iruka did remember, only too well the lost everyone suffered during that day. Iruka could still recall the terror he felt as he gazed upon the fearsome monster that threatened everything he cared about. More so than that, he could still remember the despair he felt after his parents were killed right before his eyes. They had died trying to protect both him and the village. Even now, twelve years later the terror he felt at remembering that monster was very great.

Figuring as much, the Third's expression became thoughtful.

"In the long run, it can indeed be said that Naruto's dream might be tough for him," surmised Sarutobi after a moment of thought.

"Oh? Why's that?" asked Iruka, triggering a nod from the Third.

"As you know, only the adults that fought twelve years ago know that a nine tailed demon fox is sealed in Naruto. I made that fact absolutely secret and severely punished those who broke the rule. Because of that, the children don't know about it. That is the only hope Naruto has really. The Fourth Hokage wanted everyone to see Naruto as a hero, a living prison for the beast that nearly destroyed us," explained Sarutobi.

Iruka nodded being well learned in the tale. However, a certain scrap of information puzzled the Chuunin.

"A hero?" asked Iruka in confusion. "_What's so heroic about living with a beast like that inside you?_" he wondered.

Sarutobi nodded in confirmation before continuing.

"It's amazing really, the Forth choose a baby that just had it umbilical cord cut off and sealed the fox within him. Naruto became the container for the nine-tailed fox, but the adults of the village do not see Naruto as I do. There are even a few who believe that Naruto is the nine-tailed fox himself. The attitude of these people are being passed down into the children."

"_Poor Naruto, I never knew,_" realized Iruka sadly.

"That is why I know Naruto can trust you, Iruka. You who like myself have never viewed Naruto as the Lord of Demons. So that Naruto can benefit just as much as yourself from that trust, I shall grant your request."

At this, Sarutobi finally opened the black book to reveal pages of old parchment with the official Hokage seal pressed into the pages. Seizing a waiting quill from its' ink bottle, the Third carefully crafted a note with special instructions concerning Naruto. Folding it neatly, the Third handed the official document to Iruka.

"See to it that Naruto receives this note and delivers it to a certain person," Sarutobi instructed.

Iruka caught the meaning behind his elder's words and nodded.

"I shall. Thank you very much, Hokage-sama," appreciatively voiced the man before bowing and turning to leave the room.

Soon, the scarred instructor would be able to keep his promise…

Iruka was jolted from his memories by frantic knocking at the door of his hut.

"Iruka-sensei!" came an urgent shout.

Iruka quickly got out of bed and opened the door to find Mizuki standing outside with a worried look on his face.

"What is it?" Iruka asked Mizuki.

"Please come to Hokage-sama's place. It seems that Naruto-kun carried the scroll of sealing out," said Mizuki quickly in a single breath.

"WHAT, the scroll of sealing!?" echoed Iruka in disbelief. "_Naruto is dense but not even he could be that stupid._"

Not wanting to believe the worse, Iruka quickly got dressed in record time…

* * *

Naruto had just arrived at the designated hiding spot which turned out to be a small shack in the middle of Konoha's forest. Immediately he plopped down next to a tree and opened the large scroll that he had stolen from the Hokage's manor.

"Lets see, the first technique is…Multiple Shadow Replication," read Naruto to himself aloud after surveying the scroll for a few moments. "What, I'm not good a replications!" whined Naruto to no one in particular.

Nonetheless, Naruto determination to fulfill his mission was all the motivation he need to start practicing the technique…

* * *

Mizuki and Iruka arrived in the courtyard of the Hokage mansion to find a large crowd of angry ninjas gathered. The ninjas seemed to be arguing amongst themselves about what to do with Naruto. A few begun to complain to Sarutobi, who was silently listening to the exchange between the mob.

"Hokage-sama, we cannot let this slide by as just a prank!" shouted one of many ninjas gathered at Sarutobi's palace.

"The scroll of sealing is something dangerous that the first Hokage sealed! If it's used in a bad way it can cause trouble for us all!" warned another ninja.

"Imagine how much trouble it would be if he carried the scroll outside the village!" piped up a third.

"Indeed, bring Naruto here," instructed Sarutobi after a moment of thought.

"Yes sir!" Chorused the group of mad ninjas before splitting up to search for Naruto at amazing speeds.

Once they were gone, Sarutobi returned to his office in silence. Upon arrival, he begun to rummage through an old chest in search of his crystal ball. Soon after finding it, he took a seat at his desk and slowly poured his chakra into the shiny glass. The crystal begun displaying the location of every ninja he dispatched to look for Naruto. While convenient, the Hokage ignored these images and focused on one ninja in particular.

Iruka seemed to move faster than the rest in a desperate mad dash to find the blond kid.

"_Where did you go Naruto?_" thought Iruka to himself as he raced across the rooftops of the village…

* * *

Naruto had collapsed in exhaustion after two nonstop hours of practicing the forbidden Jutsu. Needless to say he was confident that he had gotten the technique down. Just as Naruto was thinking of moving on to the next technique he heard the footsteps of someone approaching him. Naruto glanced up in surprise upon seeing Iruka breathing heavily from running around so much.

"Hey, Naruto," said Iruka in his most dangerous voice.

Naruto could only grin sheepishly at being caught so soon. Placing a hand behind his head, Naruto begun to chuckle. Iruka, failing to see the humor in the situation, placed his fist on his hips as he waited for an explanation from the blond youth.

"Oh man, I got caught already and I only learned one technique," went Naruto while grinning lamely.

Iruka surveyed Naruto with a look of surprise and increased respect.

"_Not only was he able to carry out a scroll protected heavily by the Hokage himself, but he practiced here until he was worn out?" _thought Iruka with semi-amusement. "_Your potential is simply astounding, Naruto._"

"Hey Iruka-sensei, I'm going to show you a great technique, so let me graduate if I can do it! If I show you a technique from this scroll, I can graduate right?" questioned Naruto abruptly, breaking Iruka's train of thought.

The boy was practically bouncing with excitement but something was bothering Iruka.

"Who told you that?" asked Iruka.

"Mizuki-sensei! He told me about this place and this scroll!" replied Naruto excitedly while indicating the nearby cabin.

"_Mizuki did this?" _thought Iruka in disbelief.

Suddenly Iruka noticed motion in the corner of his eyes. Acting on instinct alone, Iruka knocked Naruto aside. Quickly he turned in the direction of the movement and braced himself for impact. The raining wave of kunai passed quickly but several of them pinned bits of Iruka's clothing to the cabin wall. However, the real damage came from a lone kunai that planted itself firmly in Iruka's right leg. Iruka winced in pain while cradling his injured leg with his free right hand.

"I'm surprised you found out about this place," came a familiar voice.

"I see, so that's how it is…Mizuki," growled Iruka as he gazed in the direction of the voice.

Naruto also looked in the direction Iruka was gazing in to find Mizuki standing in a tree. Mizuki still wore his warm smile, but it seemed much more menacing than he remembered. As if sensing Naruto stare, Mizuki turned his head in Naruto's direction.

"Naruto, hand over the scroll," he demanded.

"Hey, what's going on around here?" asked Naruto with confusion evident in his voice as his gaze wandered back and forth between Iruka and Mizuki.

Iruka didn't reply at first and he closed his eyes in concentration. Iruka's breathing slowly grew more rapid as he loosened the kunai logged in his leg. Soon he was gasping for breath as the pain in his leg intensified. Finally he opened his eyes and with a quick jerk, he freed the sharp tool from his limb and tossed it aside. Iruka continued to breath for a moment before finally speaking.

"Naruto, don't let him get the scroll no matter what. That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden techniques. Mizuki used you so he could get a hold of it!" explained Iruka while never taking his eyes off of Mizuki.

Naruto immediately dropped into a fighting pose as he growled angrily at Mizuki.

"_I can't believe he tricked me! I should've spotted it at once!_" berated Naruto mentally to himself at his own stupidity.

Mizuki smirked at the thought of crushing an insignificant insect like Naruto and brushed off his intimating glare.

"Naruto, Iruka is afraid of you possessing that scroll," instigated Mizuki.

Naruto was still letting the fact that Mizuki had betrayed his trust sink in and he didn't immediately grasp what Mizuki was implying.

"What?" said Naruto in confusion as he glanced at Iruka as if hoping to see the truth reflected in his face.

"What are you saying, Mizuki?!" demanded Iruka as he rested his weight against the cabin wall.

Iruka glanced at Naruto before speaking with a definite note of desperation in his voice.

"Don't believe him, Naruto!" begged Iruka.

Mizuki laughed openly at Iruka's helplessness before speaking again.

"I'll tell you the truth," decided Mizuki with a hint of malice in his voice.

"DON'T!" screamed Iruka as he realized what Mizuki was going to do.

Mizuki ignored him and begun speaking directly to Naruto.

"A rule was created after the accident that occurred twelve years ago," Mizuki begun.

"A rule?" asked Naruto in confusion once again.

"That's right, it's a rule that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about," continued Mizuki.

"Only me? What's that rule?" asked Naruto curiously.

"STOP IT, MIZUKI!" screamed Iruka in one last desperate attempt to hide the truth from Naruto.

Like before, Mizuki ignored Iruka and begun grinning evilly.

"It's the rule not to say that Naruto is a monster fox."

Time seemed to stand still and an eerie silence greeted these words as soon as they left Mizuki's lips. Naruto's eyes became as wide as orbs and his body took on the weight of a new found burden. He desperately stared at Iruka as if willing him to deny the truth of Mizuki's words. But, he found Iruka's head was bowed in shame. Never before had Naruto ever felt so betrayed.

"Everyone knew?" Naruto asked Iruka sadly.

To Naruto's despair, Iruka gave the slightest of nods to his question.

"That's right, everyone knows that you are the nine tailed monster fox that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village. You've been deceived by the village people all this time. Didn't you think it was weird for everyone to hate you so much?" chimed in Mizuki with an air of one who had pulled off the crime of the century without getting caught.

Something wet rolled down Naruto's cheeks and realizing he was crying Naruto grew furious. Naruto's bluish chakra begun to swirl wildly around him in his anger.

"DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" screamed Naruto.

The suddenly display of chakra seemed to excite Mizuki and he begun taunting Naruto.

"No one's ever going to recognize you! Even Iruka hates you!"

Mizuki reached to his back and unfastened one of the large shuriken. Gripping the hand guard carefully, Mizuki begun to rotate the massive star while taking aim at the enraged blond.

"Die, Naruto!" yelled Mizuki before hurling the oversized shuriken at him.

Naruto fell on his butt in fright and tried to crawl away from the incoming projectile. But, he knew deep down that there was no chance of escape from the deadly windmill. Suddenly there was a flash of movement and Iruka appeared behind Naruto.

"Duck, Naruto!" demanded Iruka.

Not one to be told twice, Naruto did just that. There was a loud sound of metal piercing flesh and Naruto felt something warm and sticky land on his cheek. Naruto glanced behind him to find Iruka laying on top of him. The shuriken was buried in Iruka's back.

"Why?" was all Naruto could say as he gazed on in horror at the thin trickle of blood dripping from Iruka's mouth.

For a moment Iruka said nothing, then in a raspy voice Iruka begun to speak.

"Because you're the same as me. After my parents died, nobody ever complimented me or recognized me. Being the bad student that I was, I screwed up a lot during class because I wanted everyone's attention. I couldn't get anyone's attention when I was a good student. So I acted like an idiot," said Iruka sadly.

For the first time Naruto saw real tears touch his sensei's eyes. Genuine tears of sadness and sorrow steadily flowed down Iruka's cheeks and dripped upon Naruto's face as he opened his heart up to the boy.

"It was tough right, Naruto? You were lonely, right?" Iruka begun to openly cry in front of the subordinate he trusted the most. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. You didn't have to feel that way if I had been more aware."

Naruto too felt the coming of tears at the honesty of his teacher. However, Mizuki soon grew tired of the touching moment between the student and his sensei and attempted to make his presence known again. With a snicker Mizuki begun to speak.

"Don't make me laugh! Iruka has hated you since the day you killed his parents! He just wants to get that scroll back!" bellowed Mizuki.

Mizuki's words hit home and Naruto distrustfully gazed at Iruka as he considered the possibility. Immediately Naruto broke away from Iruka and took off running into the forest.

"NARUTO!!" screamed Iruka desperately at Naruto's retreating back.

Mizuki choose that moment to jump out of the tree he was standing in so that he could chase after the boy. But figuring he had a bit of time Mizuki decided to taunt Iruka some more.

"Naruto isn't the type to change his mind. I'm certain he's going to take revenge on this village with that scroll. You saw it in his eyes didn't you? The wrathful eyes of the monster fox."

Figuring he had gotten his point across, Mizuki turned to chase after Naruto. Before the blue haired fiend could take two steps however, Iruka pulled the massive shuriken from his back and spoke.

"Naruto won't do that," Iruka quietly said before hurling the giant star at Mizuki.

With the greatest of ease, Mizuki stepped out of the path of the slow moving projectile and glared at Iruka.

"As long as I kill Naruto and get the scroll, I'm okay. I'll take care of you later," promised Mizuki before he gave chase to the blond kid.

"_I won't let you!_" was Iruka's final thought before he too gave chase…

* * *

"This isn't good! Mizuki told him the secret," worded Sarutobi out loud to himself.

The Hokage had been carefully observing the events that had come to pass with keen interest. Needless to say, Sarutobi wasn't pleased with the way things were going.

"_Naruto is more unstable than ever. He might release the power that has been sealed,_" mused Sarutobi to himself. "_He also has the scroll of sealing. As long as he possesses it, the possibility that he will unseal himself and turn into the Nine-Tailed Fox is very great._"

The old man tiredly rubbed his eyes in contemplation before coming to a decision.

"_If that should happen, Naruto must be executed,_" thought the old man before he resumed watching the events unfold in his crystal ball…

* * *

"_I found him._"

"Naruto!" called Iruka to his retreating student.

The boy glanced over his shoulders to see Iruka chasing after him in the trees.

"What Mizuki said back there was all a lie! Hand over the scroll to me! Mizuki is after it!" screamed Iruka.

The boy stopped running but instead of giving Iruka the scroll, Naruto landed a powerful punch to Iruka's guts. Iruka cried out in both shock and pain before he lost his balance and fell off of the branch he was standing on. Iruka landed flat on is back as Naruto gently touched down a few feet away. Naruto was gasping for breath from all of the running he did and fell on his butt while cradling the oversized scroll.

Iruka weakly climbed to his feet from the blow before in a poof of smoke Iruka transformed into Mizuki.

"Naruto, how did you know I wasn't Iruka!" demanded the furious blue haired male.

Naruto merely laugh before he too went up in smoke.

"That's because I'm Iruka," said the real Iruka once the smoke cleared.

"I see," said Mizuki with new respect for his fellow ninja. "Tell me Iruka, what good is there in protecting the one who killed your parents?"

"I'm not going to let an idiot like you get that scroll," Iruka said instead of answering Mizuki's question.

"You're the idiot, Naruto is the same as me!" countered Mizuki.

"Same as you?" questioned Iruka in mild confusion.

"Correct, you see anything is possible with that scroll. There's no way that Naruto, the monster fox, won't use its powers," explained Mizuki.

"Yeah, you're right. _If_ he was a monster fox," said Iruka with emphasis on the word if.

Mizuki raised his eyebrow in a quizzical fashion before Iruka continued.

"Naruto is different. He's an excellent student that I've always recognized," Iruka paused to smile as he remembered Naruto's good qualities. "He's earnest, hardworking, clumsy and no one has bothered to truly try to acknowledge him. Yet he also knows the pain of others. He's no monster fox, he is Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha! The future Hokage!"

Mizuki's expression was one of both pity and disbelief at what he was hearing but it soon turned to anger. Mizuki reached behind him to retrieve his last shuriken.

"What an idiot. You know Iruka, I said I would kill you later but I take that back. You can die now!" Mizuki yelled before charging at Iruka.

The distance was closing fast and Iruka slowly closed his eyes in preparation for his fate. Mizuki was practically smiling in victory before he spotted an orange blur out the corner of his eye. Unable to turn in time to defend himself, Mizuki was rewarded with a knee rammed into his chin. Mizuki flew back several feet, head first while the giant shuriken went flying into the treetops. Mizuki cried out in pain after he landed and Iruka opened his eyes at the sound.

"Naruto!" gasped Iruka in surprise.

"Damn you!" moaned Mizuki while rubbing his smarting chin.

Naruto stood to his full height and for once even Mizuki was a bit intimidated by the power the boy seemed to radiate.

"Don't lay a finger on Iruka-sensei, I'll kill you if you do!" growled Naruto savagely.

"_He must have been listening to the conversation,_" realized Iruka. "_Naruto, you've come to protect me._" Iruka smiled in pride at his student.

Mizuki was still a bit unnerved but quickly started trash talking anyway, convinced that it had just been a lucky fluke.

"Talk while you can punk! I'll finish a kid like you in a flash!" Mizuki shook a fist at Naruto.

Naruto changed his stance and formed a cross using his index and middle fingers on both hands.

"Try jerk! I'll do a thousand times more damage back to you!" shot back Naruto.

"Why don't you try if _you_ can you monster fox!" countered Mizuki heatedly.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" yelled Naruto before several clouds of smoke appeared all around him.

When the smoke cleared, Mizuki and Iruka looked on in amazement to see the clearing filled with Narutos.

"_Naruto, you've used the Shadow Replication?!_" Iruka's amazed look turned into a thrilled smile.

To have learned such a high level technique on his own in just a matter of hours and to be able to use it on such an enormous scale utterly smashed any doubts that the kid had what it took to become a legend. Each of the copies were actual bodies fully capable of carrying out the inevitable action of kicking Mizuki's skinny arse to the moons!

Mizuki didn't know which way to turn. Everywhere he looked there was a Naruto. There must have been a least a hundred of them.

"What's the matter? Come and get me!" chorused all of the Narutos in unison.

After spinning around so much, Mizuki fell flat on his butt as he lost balance. He took on an expression of pure terror, when he realized he was completely outmatched. By the dead last of the class no less.

"If you're not coming, we're coming!" said some of the Narutos as they all started cracking their knuckles.

"_Lord save me!_" was Mizuki's last thought before the army of Narutos pounced.

In the darkest corner of Konoha's forest a sissy girl's scream could be heard…

* * *

Mizuki's face was a bloody pulp and several of his teeth were missing but other than that no severe damage had been inflicted. Still Naruto couldn't help but sheepishly grin while rubbing the back of his head.

"Maybe I hurt him too much!" said Naruto between laughter. "Iruka-sensei, are you alright?" asked Naruto after turning his full attention on his teacher.

"Yeah," replied Iruka.

Iruka could only smile proudly at his student.

"_What a guy, he really might surpass all of the Hokages,_" thought Iruka with amusement.

Iruka groaned slightly as his back gave a painful throb, but his smile didn't waver.

"Naruto, come here for a second. I want to give you something," requested Iruka.

Curiously, Naruto stepped forward to see what Iruka wanted to give him. Mizuki unconscious form remained forgotten in the wake of the rising sun. Once Naruto got close enough Iruka spoke.

"Close your eyes, Naruto."

* * *

The mob of ninjas had returned to the Hokage mansion after an unsuccessful search of the village.

"Did anyone find Naruto?" asked one of the ninjas once everyone was present.

"No," replied several of the ninjas in defeat.

"Damn, this isn't good," complained another.

Suddenly a deep voice spoke over the crowd.

"There's no need to worry anymore," announced the Hokage, who arrived unnoticed in the square.

"Hokage-sama, what are you saying?" questioned one ninja in shock.

Sarutobi merely smiled at the question and gazed in the direction of the forest.

"He'll come home soon," was all the elderly man said…

* * *

"Sensei, are you done yet?" asked Naruto impatiently with his eyes shut.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now," replied Iruka.

Slowly Naruto opened his eyes and squinted in the light of the rising sun. Once his eyes adjusted, Naruto noticed that Iruka wasn't wearing his forehead protector. Also Naruto's goggles were grasped in Iruka's hand. Realization dawned on Naruto before Iruka spoke.

"Congratulations, you graduate," said Iruka with a smile.

Naruto's mouth opened in shock and for the longest he stood flabbergasted before Iruka.

"All right, let's celebrate. I'll treat you to some ramen," said Iruka before without warning an orange blur tackled him to the ground.

"Iruka-sensei!" cried Naruto happily.

"Ouch, that hurts, Naruto!" moaned Iruka after landing painfully on his back with Naruto hugging his waist.

Still Iruka smiled despise the pain and begun to playfully wrestle with Naruto. All the while Iruka's thoughts remained on what he wanted to say to his former student.

"_Naruto, I was going to lecture you on how it gets harder from here on as a ninja, but I'll keep it until we get to the ramen shop._"

* * *

Hey hey hoo everyone! This is your host and writer Aninene the Legendary Fox Demon speaking. I hoped you guys enjoyed my first attempt at writing a Naruto Fanfic. Hopefully the end results many many months from now when the story comes to an end will be worth every keystroke. I'll try my best to make this one of the best fics you guys have ever read. I'm also looking forward to all of the awesome reviews and seeing how my writing skills improve down the road.

For your convenience and my own personal fun, the development of Naruto and most characters will be displayed in a special ranking system as shown.

E Rank - Not Worth Mentioning

D Minus Rank - Amateur Genin Skill Level

D Rank - Mid-level Genin Skill Level

D Plus Rank - Elite Genin Skill Level

C Minus Rank - Novice Chuunin Skill Level

C Rank - Seasoned Chuunin Skill Level

C Plus Rank - Elite Chuunin Skill Level

B Minus Rank - Rookie Jounin Skill Level

B Rank - Advanced Jounin to ANBU Skill Level

B Plus Rank - Elite Jounin to ANBU Vice Captain Skill Level

A Minus Rank - ANBU Captain Skill Level

A Rank - Badass Shinobi

A Plus Rank - Extreme Badass

S Rank - Kage Level

Sub Levels U, OM and G Ranks - Ultimate Ninja

Simple enough, right? There will also be something I call a Focus Gauge but I'll explain that later. Okay, here's a quick question to help you guys get started with the reviews. How did I do with the introduction of two of my special characters? It was pretty tough coming up with a way to include them this early in the fic without throwing the original story off so I hope I did an ok job. Even now I'm already planning how I want to pull off chapter two. I can't wait to get started.

Now on to the disclaimer. I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the anime Naruto. The only characters that are mine and mine alone are Domino Shishikura, Elaine Harime and a few others that I'll introduce later on. All Naruto characters and elements beyond that belong to Bandai and its creator.

See you guys in chapter two and don't forget to review! Ta ta now.

**Very Important!! **Copyright 2008 Aninene the Legendary Fox. This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any website outside of FanFiction or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this fic on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Plagiarism will not be tolerated!


	2. I am Konohamaru!

**Please Train me Boss!**

**I am Konohamaru!**

It had been two days since Naruto had graduated from Konoha's ninja academy and each passing day was better than the last. The first day was spent in the hospital with Iruka, who was getting treated from the injuries inflicted on him by Mizuki. To Naruto's relief, none of the wounds were serious and Iruka would be released from the hospital the next day. Even better yet, a really cute nurse gave Naruto an entire jar of candy as a reward for graduating from the academy. The next day Iruka treated Naruto to ramen at the Ichiraku Ramen shop to celebrate Iruka's release from the hospital. Although, his sensei kept complaining about how itchy his bandages were the whole time.

However, today was a very important day for Naruto. He was going to register and receive his ninja license at the academy! Feeling that he should alter his looks for the occasion, Naruto had spent three hours applying paint to his hands and face. The results was an evil looking mime with red spirals on his cheeks and fingertips and various markings covering his face. Once he was ready, Naruto made his way to the Hokage's mansion first to have his I.D picture taken.

* * *

"Hey are you really going to have your picture taken with that face?" asked the photographer.

The photographer was an overweight elderly man with a gray ring of hair that crowned a bald patch on top of his head. The photographer's beady eyes were magnified a bit by his enormous spectacles. He was wearing a green button down shirt with a pair of black slacks. He was currently frowning at Naruto's idea of a good picture as he leaned on an old fashioned shutter box.

"Don't worry about it. Just take it!" said Naruto excitedly.

"Geez, just don't regret it later," complained the photographer with an annoyed grunt.

The photographer moved under the covering that would protect the picture from light and readied the flash button.

"Okay, say cheese," said the photographer.

Immediately Naruto struck the meanest pose he could think of just as the flash went off.

* * *

Sarutobi was scanning Naruto's registration form while the blond sat before him with a pleased grin on his face. Prior to turning in his registration form Naruto had made sure wash off his frightening paint job. He now appeared just like normal with his goggles perched upon his forehead.

'_Hobby - To pull pranks_'

'_Favorite food is ramen, especially miso ramen_'

'_Date of birth - October tenth_'

'_Age - Twelve years old_'

'_Sign - Libra_'

'_Registration Number 102607_'

Sarutobi raised his eyes quizzically at Naruto's I.D picture drawing a chuckle from the boy.

"I couldn't make a nice face so it took three hours to make it look like that! Still, isn't it artistic or like cool!" bragged Naruto while flashing the thumbs up sign.

"Take it over," said the Third with a sigh.

"Noo!" moaned Naruto in protest.

"Re-take the picture," repeated Sarutobi more firmly.

"No way!" replied Naruto stubbornly.

The two ninjas begun to glare at each other before without warning…

"Henge!" cried Naruto while making a hand seal.

Naruto when up in a poof of smoke before he reappeared as the perky blonde girl again. Just like before the remaining smoke kept certain visuals hidden from sight.

"Hokage-sama, pleased," begged the girl in her most seductive moan.

The old man blinked stupidly for a few moments before his nose begun spurting blood. Sarutobi jerked back in his chair and comically fell over. He remained on the ground twitching for a few moments while Naruto changed back to normal. After a minute, the shaken up old man picked himself up off the ground and begun to clean his nose with a handkerchief.

"The temptation technique, eh? What an absurd technique," grumbled Sarutobi in annoyance.

Naruto begun to chuckle while placing a hand behind his head. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that so he said nothing.

"By the way Naruto, where is your forehead protector?" asked Sarutobi.

"I'm not going to wear it until the explanatory meeting since it will get scratched," replied Naruto while rubbing his old goggles.

"I see, well putting that aside this ninja registration form is something of utmost secrecy that will remain in the village. Therefore it is an important document even to you," said Sarutobi.

The Third glanced at Naruto's registration form again.

"So what is with this face?" asked the Third.

Naruto ignored Sarutobi's question and voiced instead what was on his mind.

"I don't understand those complex things!" whined Naruto.

Suddenly there was a glint of light flashing from the doorway of the classroom. Both Naruto and Sarutobi stared at the figure who burst into the room waving a mini shuriken wildly.

"Fight me you old geezer!" yelled a small kid as he charged.

The kid was wearing a yellow T-shirt with the Konoha leaf symbol on the front. He was also wearing a pair of tan shorts and what appeared to be a safety helmet on his head. The boy was also wearing a long blue scarf that seemed to sway in some none existent breeze as he moved. A long brown ponytail stuck out the back of the boy's helmet and his brown eyes seemed to radiate with determination.

"The title of Hokage belongs to me, Konohamaru!" was the last thing the kid shouted before he tripped and fell flat on his face.

"_The hell? Who is this kid?_" thought Naruto to himself as the kid rolled on the ground cradling his head.

"Itai!" moaned Konohamaru in pain.

"_Problems just keep showing up,_" thought Sarutobi with a resigned sigh as he sucked quietly on his pipe.

The sound of footsteps approached the room rapidly before a tall lanky man entered the room. The man had brown hair that was mostly covered by a navy blue bandana. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses that hid his brown eyes as well as a navy blue sweat suit. His name was Ebisu. Ebisu's mouth opened in shock upon finding Konohamaru laying on the floor.

The little ninja climbed into a sitting position and rubbed his head a bit before speaking.

"Is this a trap?" demanded Konohamaru.

Ebisu looked quickly around the room before replying.

"Are you alright young master? Oh and there are no traps by the way."

The kid turned towards Naruto after noticing him for the first time. Ebisu did the same before gasping in surprise.

"_This kid is the nine tailed demon fox. The dropout I really hate,_" thought the lanky man to himself before adapting a knowing smirk.

Konohamaru stomped up to Naruto and pointed an accusing finger at his face.

"I got it, you did something didn't you?!" he demanded angrily.

Naruto's reaction was unexpected. He quickly grabbed the collar of the kid's shirt and lifted him an inch into the air. Anger was written all over the Naruto's face and a vein was throbbing in his temple.

"You just tripped on your own!" bellowed Naruto heatedly.

"Hey, let go of him! He's the great grandson of the third Hokage!" cried the tall man.

Naruto anger lessened a bit as he took in this information but he had yet to release Konohamaru. He glanced back and forth between Sarutobi and the brat as if searching for a resemblance.

"_He stopped right after he found out I was the grandson of a Hokage. He must be just like Ebisu-sensei and everyone else,_" thought Konohamaru with a grin.

"What's the matter, why don't you hit me if you can! You're no match for the grandson of a Hokage!" taunted Konohamaru.

"Like I care about that! You idiot!" roared Naruto before he punched the kid as hard as he could in the head.

"_This guy…_" was Konohamaru's last thought before he blacked out.

"What have you done!?" wailed Ebisu.

Sarutobi merely rubbed his eyes tiredly before dismissing Naruto with a wave of his hand.

* * *

It was ten minutes later before Konohamaru awakened with a splitting headache. Immediately he glanced around the room in search of the blond jerk who hit him.

"Young master, you've awakened!" said the lanky man happily.

"That guy, where is he?" asked Konohamaru quietly.

"Hm, young master you are the grandson of a Hokage. Even though he hit you, you mustn't get involved with a guy like him. No good will come out of it. I, the elite teacher Ebisu, am never wrong," said Ebisu firmly.

Konohamaru suddenly found the floor to be very interesting as his sensei worked his way into a rant that he had heard many times before.

"You wish to become the fifth Hokage right? If I teach you ninja techniques, it will be easy to gain the title of Hokage," declared Ebisu in a manner that suggested he had practiced this speech many times.

Konohamaru still hadn't looked up from the floor yet.

"Yes, the quickest path to becoming a Hokage is to learn from me," droned on Ebisu as he turned a bit to push his sunglasses further upon his nose. "Do you understand young master?" asked the man when he turned back around.

Konohamaru was nowhere in sight. Ebisu looked around the room for his student before he grasped his head in panic.

"He's gone!?" cried Ebisu.

At this moment, Sarutobi finally spoke up.

"It looks like he went to follow Naruto," he said while taking a drag on his pipe and exhaling the sweet perfumed scent.

"What!? I've got to find him!" wailed Ebisu before dashing out the classroom. "Young master, wait for me!"

"_How did he grow up to be like that? That was the twentieth ambush today. It worries me even more when he's with Naruto. I hope he doesn't teach Konohamaru weird things_," thought Sarutobi to himself when the footsteps of Ebisu faded completely.

"Do you want me to keep an eye on Naruto?" asked a voice outside of the classroom.

"Yes, please do… Genmaru," replied Sarutobi before a reddish blur dashed past the door.

* * *

"_The nerve of that kid!_" fumed Naruto to himself as he walked home.

"Hey, Naruto," called a familiar soft voice.

Naruto turned to find Elaine and Domino walking towards him. Elaine waved her arm in greeting while Naruto returned the gesture.

"I've heard that you've graduated!" said Elaine with a pleased smile.

"Yeah, the chef at Ichiraku wouldn't stop talking about it," chimed in Domino with a gorgeous smile that also radiated pleasure.

Naruto modestly rubbed the back of his head happily at his friend's praise.

"Yeah, well Iruka-sensei passed me after I beat up that Mizuki creep," replied Naruto with a chuckle.

"Mizuki-sensei… I thought I was picking up bad vibes from that guy," said Elaine thoughtfully.

"Right, and here I was thinking he was cute," said Domino with a huff that caused the others to sweat drop.

"Ookay, well anyway Naruto, did you turn in your registration form?" asked Elaine.

"Yep, I was just on my way from the academy to get some ramen. There was some weird kid there who tried to attack old man Hokage," replied Naruto with a frown.

"Let me guess. He had brown hair, a blue scarf, a safety helmet and a really stupid looking face?" listed Domino while ticking off her fingers.

"Yeah, that's the kid!" replied Naruto.

"Ah, that must been Konohamaru-san," stated Elaine with a sigh. "He has been giving the Third a lot of trouble lately."

"Really, he just seems plain stupid to me. He even tripped over his own feet," said Naruto while his eyebrow twitched.

"That's our Konohamaru for you," said Domino with a chuckle while playfully sticking out her tongue.

Naruto laughed.

"Say do you guys want to join me for some ramen?" asked Naruto with a grin.

"I would love to!" said both girls in unison.

Suddenly Elaine sighed.

"But Domino and I have to run a lot of errands today, but maybe we can have lunch together tomorrow?" Elaine asked hopefully.

"Alright, that'll be great!" replied Naruto with a grin.

"Wonderful!" said Domino happily. "I'll see if I can get Genmaru to make lunch and come with us!"

"Genmaru?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"Oh yeah, you two never met. Genmaru is Domino's boyfriend as well as the leader of our team. He's also an excellent cook," explained Elaine with a smile.

"You three are in a team?" asked Naruto in surprise.

"That's right but we'll give you all the details at lunch tomorrow. Don't be late or I'll never forgive!" said Domino with a playful wink.

"We've better get going, see you later Naruto!" said Elaine before she and Domino walked off.

Naruto resumed walking once his friends had rounded the corner.

* * *

Nothing eventful happened for the next three minutes and Naruto was just considering stopping for ice cream when suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps. Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see a pair of feet jutting out from beneath a camouflage cover. Apparently someone was stalking him. Figuring that this person was trying to play a lame joke on him Naruto resumed walking.

Naruto had gone no father than five steps before he heard the footsteps again. This time they sounded closer than before. In annoyance, Naruto turned around to yell at his newfound shadow.

"Don't follow me! What do you want?!" demanded Naruto shrilly.

Like before the stalker had donned a camouflage covering and pressed up against a wall. Naruto's eyebrow twitched in irritation when he spotted a familiar ponytail sticking out of the covering like a sore thumb.

"Um, that's really obvious you know," said Naruto after seeing Konohamaru's pitiful attempt to conceal himself.

Konohamaru chuckled before uncovering his face.

"Nice job detecting me. I should've expected it from the guy I heard rumors about," said the pint sized ninja in training as he folded up his camouflage covering.

Once he tucked it safely away in his pocket he approached Naruto and pointed at him.

"I don't mind being your follower," announced the kid abruptly.

"What?" asked Naruto in confusion.

Konohamaru pretended that he hadn't heard him and continued speaking.

"In return, tell me how to do the temptation technique you used to defeat the Hokage geezer!" demanded Konohamaru.

Naruto folded his arms before he more or less told Konohamaru no.

"Aw, don't say that! Please boss?" begged Konohamaru.

The kid had said the magic word.

"Boss eh, alright then you've got a deal!" replied Naruto with a grin.

* * *

After stopping first to get some ramen, Naruto and Konohamaru went to the village's shopping district to prepare the bratty kid for his training.

"Alright, listen up. First, in order to use a ninja technique well you need to be able to use your chatora well," explained Naruto as they walked.

"Chatora? Isn't that a brown tiger boss? I thought it was called chakra." said Konohamaru in confusion.

Naruto begun to panic at his error before hastily speaking.

"Shut up! Good ninjas call it chatora," Naruto lied.

"Really? So that's how it is!" replied Konohamaru excitedly.

"_Man, I'm glad he's stupid,_" thought Naruto to himself as he wiped his brow with the sleeves of his jacket.

"Yeah, now listen. Chakra is …" begun Naruto, using the correct word this time, before he was cut off by Konohamaru.

"Simply put, it is the energy used to execute a technique," explained Konohamaru before he withdrew a manual from his pocket. "In other words, the body uses both the energy found in every single cell as well as sprit energy that accumulates through training and experience. After mixing the two energies together and forming a hand seal a technique can be executed." read Konohamaru.

"Don't act like you know everything when you're just reading from a scroll!" shouted Naruto.

"Sorry boss," said Konohamaru with a nervous chuckle.

"Anyway, although that thing goes on and on about it you just need two things to use a technique well." explained Naruto in a much calmer tone.

"What are those, boss?" asked Konohamaru.

"Hard work and guts." replied Naruto simply.

"Hard work and guts eh?" repeated Konohamaru in understanding.

"That's right and I plan to train you hard so prepare yourself." warned Naruto.

"Roger that, Boss!" said Konohamaru with a salute.

"Great that's the right attitude to have. Now try transforming so I can see how good your ninja techniques are," ordered Naruto with a grin.

He was clearly enjoying the power he had over the kid.

"Alright but what should I transform into?" asked the ninja in training.

Naruto glanced around for a moment before he pointed to a beautiful woman near a fruit stand. The woman was wearing a purple kimono with a black leotard underneath. She had long red hair that was tied into a ponytail. To say the least, she appeared very curvy.

"There, transform into that babe," ordered Naruto.

"Right, it'll be my pleasure!" said Konohamaru confidently.

Konohamaru carefully observed the woman, like an artist who was getting ready to paint a model before he made a hand seal.

"Henge!" cried the boy before he went up in smoke.

When the cloud cleared, Naruto was shocked to fine a rather ugly looking copy of the woman. Konohamaru's transformation resulted in a rather plump looking monster with a huge zit in the center of her forehead. Konohamaru also had a fuzzy patch of hair beneath his chin and a pair of squashed looking lips.

"Well do I look like her?" asked Konohamaru.

"S-Sure, the clothes and hair looks perfect," replied a repulsed Naruto.

"What's so similar?" growled a voice behind Naruto.

Naruto turned in time to catch a fist in the face from the angry woman that dropped him like a stack of potatoes before she turned to Konohamaru, who had changed back to normal.

"Listen young master. Please do a cuter transformation next time you turn into me okay?" asked the woman with a cheery smile before she walked off with a wave.

"_She's scary,_" thought Konohamaru nervously.

Naruto groaned in pain from his new residence on the ground.

"Why did, I have to be hit?" whined Naruto pathetically.

* * *

After spending a few minutes making sure that there was no lasting damage to his face, Naruto had escorted Konohamaru to an adult book store.

"Okay, we're going to research pheromones here," declared Naruto.

"Roger, boss!" Konohamaru said before saluting Naruto.

Naruto opened the door to the shop and peered cautiously inside. Naruto grinned upon finding the shop owner sound asleep. Naruto beckoned Konohamaru into the store and the duo immediately made a beeline to the swimsuit section. Naruto picked up a magazine and started flipping thru the content with a drool while Konohamaru peeked over his shoulder. So engrossed the two were in the book that they never heard the shop owner coming.

"Ahem, I told you that there's no browsing in the store Naruto," growled the owner much to the horror of Naruto.

"Run for it Konohamaru!" screamed Naruto but the tiny ninja was no where in sight, haven already dashed out the store when he wasn't looking.

Naruto tried to escape as well but unfortunately, he didn't get so lucky. Naruto felt the shop owner grab the collar of his jacket and spin him around. The last thing Naruto saw was a fist aimed at his right eye before he knew no more.

* * *

Naruto had been tossed head first out the store and rendered unconscious for over an hour. Naruto knew from the sharp pain and swelling around his eye that it had been blackened. Still despise the pain and enduring a few ice packs, Naruto continued with Konohamaru's lesson. This time the blond prankster took Konohamaru to a popular ladies bathhouse.

"This is the last place. So lets put our sprit into it!" announced Naruto to his worried follower.

"Okay," said Konohamaru uncertainly.

"You remember the plan right?" asked Naruto to which Konohamaru nodded. "Alright then lets do it!"

"Henge!" both ninjas cried before being consumed by smoke.

When the smoke cleared both boys were transformed into their female counter parts. Also they were still wearing their regular clothes. With a nod the two entered the bathhouse. The moment the bathing ladies spotted Naruto's clothes, they begun screaming in outrage. They pounced upon the hapless boy and buried him under a mountain of punching and kicking bodies. Konohamaru as usual had ran out of the shop, leaving his blond sensei to get pounded and forcefully tossed out of the bathhouse where he was waiting.

"_Why am I the one getting pounded_?" thought Naruto as he painfully crawled to his feet in his normal form.

Wordlessly, Naruto beckoned Konohamaru to follow him into Konoha's forest for training.

* * *

They had arrived at the cabin that Mizuki had told Naruto about before. For the most part Naruto had taken it over as a training center and rest house.

"I'm sorry," said Konohamaru to the surprise of Naruto. "It's because I'm the grandson of a Hokage that all this happened to you." said Konohamaru in a guilty tone.

"Don't worry about it," said Naruto while waving away the apology. "Anyway, preparations for the sexy technique are now complete. All you need to do now is practice." announced Naruto with a thumbs up.

"Okay boss!" beamed Konohamaru.

"Alright, let's review. The basics are big breast, thin waist and big bottom. Now show me what you got!" bellowed Naruto while pumping a fist into the air.

"Roger, boss!" said Konohamaru before he took on a look of concentration.

"Henge!" cried Konohamaru.

When the smoke cleared Konohamaru appeared as the same ugly woman from before but this time he was wearing pink lingerie that seemed a size to small.

"NO!" shouted Naruto. "Do it again but thinner this time!" he ordered.

"Right, Henge!" cried Konohamaru again.

When the smoke cleared, Konohamaru appeared with a beautiful body but his face was still just as ugly as before.

"How's this, boss?" asked Konohamaru.

"Better but make it more beautiful," requested Naruto.

"Okay, Henge!" cried Konohamaru a third time.

He now had a more beautiful face but, he still had the large zit and beard.

"_This is going to take awhile,_" thought Naruto with a sigh.

* * *

"_Naruto… what is he planning to do with my young master?_" wondered Ebisu as he glanced around from atop the Hokage monument.

The lanky man had been searching for his student for over three hours and still hadn't caught head or tail of him.

"_Who knows what kind of horrible habits he's picking up from that boy,_" Ebisu winced at the thought. "Damn it, where did he go?!" cried Ebisu in frustration.

"_I am an elite teacher who has taught many Hokage candidates. Any bug who attaches to my student will be eliminated_," was Ebisu's final thought as he hatefully pictured Naruto's face.

In a flash of movement Ebisu resumed his search for his lost pupil.

* * *

It had been a half an hour since Konohamaru started practicing the sexy technique. Feeling a bit parched, Naruto and Konohamaru took a break and went to a vending machine for some sodas. The two ninjas sat down in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

"_Konohamaru has sure come a long way. He'll master the technique in no time at this rate_," thought Naruto with a smile.

He glanced at his follower for a second before he voiced what was on his mind.

"By the way kid, why are you so obsessed with old man Hokage?" asked Naruto.

Konohamaru looked up in surprise at the question before adapting a somber expression.

"Grandpa gave me my name which he took off of the village. But even though it's a name that everyone in the village should have heard many time, nobody calls me by it. Whenever anyone sees me they only see the grandson of a Hokage. I hate that. Nobody sees me as an individual so that's why I want the title of Hokage right now," said Konohamaru with determined eyes.

Naruto who had been listening the whole time suddenly gained increased respect for the boy. He took a swig of his drink before speaking.

"Idiot. Who's going to recognize a guy like you?" said Naruto bluntly.

"What was that!" demanded Konohamaru heatedly.

"You keep saying Hokage but, it's not a title that a kid can carry so easily you know. However, if you want that title so badly…" Naruto grinned. "Then you'll have to defeat me first!" he declared.

* * *

Sarutobi gazed upon the Hokage monument in silence. However he was really thinking about Naruto and his grandson.

"I've been looking for you, Third," greeted a voice from behind him.

Sarutobi didn't have to turn around to found out who it was.

"Yes, Iruka?" asked Sarutobi.

"Did Naruto turn in his registration form properly?" asked Iruka as he approached his mentor.

"Yes, he did," replied Sarutobi as he felt cheeks grow warm from the events of that morning.

Luckily Iruka couldn't tell by looking at his back.

"That's good. I lectured him at the ramen shop a few days ago, but he's been so happy about becoming a ninja that I don't think he heard a word I said," said Iruka with a chuckle.

"Indeed, but Naruto's dream might be tough for him," said Sarutobi after a moment of thought.

"Oh? Why's that?" asked Iruka.

"As you know, only the adults that fought twelve years ago know that a nine tailed demon fox is sealed in Naruto," explained Sarutobi.

Iruka nodded although the Hokage couldn't see the gesture.

"I made that fact absolutely secret and severely punished those who broke the rule. Because of that, the children don't know about it. That is the only hope Naruto has really. The fourth Hokage wanted everyone to see Naruto as a hero, a heroic prison for the beast that nearly destroyed us," continued Sarutobi.

"A hero?" asked Iruka in confusion. "_What's so heroic about living with a beast like that inside you?_" he wondered.

Sarutobi nodded before continuing.

"It's amazing really, the Fourth choose a baby that just had it umbilical cord cut off and sealed the fox within him. Naruto became the container for the nine-tailed fox, but the adults of the village do not see Naruto as I do. There are even a few who believe that Naruto is the nine-tailed fox himself. The attitude of these people are being passed down into the children."

"_Poor Naruto, I never knew,_" realized Iruka sadly.

"Tell me Iruka, have you ever heard of this legend before?" asked the Third.

"What legend, sir?" replied Iruka.

"They say that when a person hates another and does not recognize him, said person's eyes becomes terribly cold when he looks at the other."

Iruka gasped in shock at the truth behind these words before a single tear rolled down his cheek.

* * *

"_There they are,_" thought Ebisu before he touched down in a nearby tree.

"I've found you!" he called, catching the eyes of the two ninjas.

"Hm, _Damn monster fox,_" thought Ebisu when he saw Naruto sitting next to his student.

He hatefully glared at the blond prankster. Naruto rose into a fighting crouch upon seeing Ebisu's eyes.

"_Those eyes again, why does everyone keep looking at me like that!?_" thought Naruto angrily.

"Now young master, let us go home," said Ebisu after leaping out of the tree he was standing in.

"No way! I'm going to defeat the geezer right now and get the title of Hokage! Don't bother me!" bellowed Konohamaru stubbornly.

"Now young master, Hokage is a title you receive when you come to understand the principles of morality, knowledge, loyalty, family and can perform more than one thousand techniques," replied Ebisu calmly as he advanced towards his pupil.

Konohamaru growled at his sensei before forming a hand seal.

"Henge!" he cried as a bluish aura of chakra swirled around him.

When the smoke cleared Konohamaru was replaced with a gorgeous and perky girl with light brown hair. Just like Naruto's transformations the remaining smoke keep certain visuals hidden from sight.

"Take that, Oiroke no Jutsu," moaned Konohamaru in a seductive manner while winking at Ebisu.

"Young master!!" Ebisu screamed in out outrage. "What are you thinking using such an indecent technique!?" roared Ebisu angrily.

"Aw man, it didn't work!" whined Konohamaru as he reverted back to normal.

"Of course it didn't work! I am a gentleman, I would never fall for a technique as base as that!" fumed Ebisu before he grabbed Konohamaru. "Young master, you're only going to get dumber if you hang around with him now lets go! I assure you that the quickest path to becoming a Hokage is to listen to me!" he said while dragging the struggling boy along.

"No!" wailed Konohamaru while failing his arms.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" came an unexpected cry.

The clearing quickly begun to fill with Narutos, much to the surprise of the struggling student and teacher.

"Wow, that's amazing!" exclaimed Konohamaru with saucer sized eyes.

Ebisu merely smiled in amusement while pushing his sunglasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

"This is silly, I am an elite teacher even if I do not look like one. I warn you that I'm quite different from Mizuki," bragged Ebisu as he advanced calmly into the mist of Narutos.

He quickly dropped into a battle pose and grinned menacingly at the small platoon of Narutos.

"Henge!" cried all the Narutos as one, before each one was replaced by Naruto's sexy technique.

Ebisu's mouth dropped open in shock upon finding himself surrounded by gorgeous perky blondes.

"Ebisu-sama," they all moaned before latching onto the hapless teacher.

Ebisu's nose erupted in twin geysers of blood before he collapsed to the ground twitching. Naruto changed back to normal and all his clones disappeared in a poof of smoke before he struck a victory pose.

"I call it the Harem no Jutsu." announced Naruto with a wink.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto eh? I'll be keeping my eyes on you," whispered a shadowy figure standing in a nearby tree before he disappeared in a blur of movement.

* * *

"Hm, did you hear something Konohamaru?" asked Naruto while he glanced around the area.

"No I didn't hear anything," replied Konohamaru in confusion.

Naruto gazed into the treetops for a moment longer before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess I must be hearing things," said Naruto.

"Yeah but who cares about that! I couldn't defeat Ebisu-sensei again! What am I doing wrong, boss?" whined Konohamaru.

"Like I said before, it's not that easy. Remember you're trying to take the title of the ninja that everyone will recognize. In that quest, I'm certain that there will be lots of unpleasant things and battles. I finally have a person who recognizes me but it wasn't easy to earn that recognition and it took a lot of work. So I'm saying that you need to be prepared for those trials and to realize that there's no shortcut to becoming Hokage," explained Naruto with a grin.

"Heh, don't lecture me like you're all that! As of now I quit being your follower, we're rivals starting from now on!" shot back Konohamaru with a grin as well.

Naruto chuckled.

"Sorry to say squirt, but I'm going to be a ninja starting tomorrow. However, I promise to fight with you one day for the title of Hokage. So until then, I'll look forward to it Konohamaru," said Naruto with a genuine smile.

Naruto then turned and begun to walk away while waving a hand behind him in farewell.

Realizing Naruto had said his name for the first time, Konohamaru smiled before saluting his newfound rival and friend…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo everyone! I'm your host and writer Aninene the Legendary Fox Demon. First of all I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this. It's really helping to boost my moral knowing that the readers are, well, reading! I also want to thank my first three reviewers for their contributions. They have inspired me to want to write even more, thanks guys.

This time I'm going to try answering reviews at the end of the chapters so the readers will be able to see who is helping me to shape my writing skills for the better. Alright here we go. Drumroll please...

sorrowangel823: You really think so? That's great but just you wait, I promise you it'll continue to get better! I'll try to update as quickly as possible. I'm shooting for an update once every four to five days, twice if I can find more free time:)

Benney: You're absolutely right! I'm trying to keep the original story as close as possible in the beginning until the fic begins writing itself. Once enough of my elements get thrown into the mix, the story will hopefully alter in a good way. I'm glad you like my writing style, I'm one of those writers that likes to put detail on everything. Wait until you see the fight scene that I've already written later on. It'll be a real doosy. ;)

THE GOD OF INTERESTING: Great! I hope it's turning out to be interesting in a good way so far. :)

Ok and that's everyone so far. This time around there were only three reviews but hopefully there will be many more as the tale progresses. Stay tuned for the next exciting install, there's going to be a whole new dimension of funny this time plus some more insight on my special characters.

On to the disclaimer. I stand by what I said before. I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. All others are property of Bandai and its creator.


	3. New Rivals!

**New Rivals!**

**Sasuke, Sakura and the Dragon Lord!**

A new day dawned on the hidden village of Konoha and it was a day of great importance for the graduates of the ninja academy. In a shabby apartment, Naruto had just awakened. He stretched his stiff muscles and released a loud yawn before kicking off his covers. Naruto rose out of bed and tossed his bulldog shaped nightcap aside. Naruto scratched his head for a moment before he remembered that today was the day of the explanatory meeting. With a grin Naruto went to his small kitchen to prepare breakfast.

He quickly heated up a container of instant ready to eat ramen and grabbed a carton of milk from his pantry.

"Itadakimasu!" said Naruto before digging in.

Naruto ate fairly quickly without really thinking of anything in particular. When half of the bowl was gone, Naruto took several swigs of milk directly from the carton.

"_Yum, that hit the spot!_" thought Naruto cheerfully.

He polished off the rest of his breakfast and then changed into his clothes. He surveyed himself in the mirror before he realized that something was missing.

"_Hang on, where's my forehead protector?_"

He went to his dresser and opened one of the drawers. With a smile Naruto retrieved his shiny headband and put it on. He looked in the mirror again to see how it looked on him.

"_Hey, who's that good looking guy?_" thought Naruto with a laugh before setting off to the meeting.

* * *

Naruto was practically humming as he made his way to the academy. His good mood lasted for over ten minutes before he spotted someone pressed up against the wall wrapped clumsily in a camouflage cover.

"_Don't tell me…_" thought Naruto before the hidden person tossed the veil aside.

"Fight me!" demanded Konohamaru shrilly.

He was just about to rush at Naruto before he tripped over his discarded cover and fell flat on his face.

"Are you alright? What in the world are you doing Konohamaru?" asked Naruto while the pint sized ninja struggled to untangle his legs from his veil.

"Heh, I expected…nothing…less…from the…man I…respect," said Konohamaru between grunts as he tried to tug the cover off.

"Okay but I didn't do anything," said Naruto in annoyance.

Konohamaru finally free himself with a jerk before rising into a battle pose.

"Alright, now lets fight fair and square!" cried Konohamaru.

"Sorry squirt, but I have to go to a explanatory meeting now. Perhaps some other time," replied Naruto while rubbing his head apologetically.

"Explanatory meeting?" repeated Konohamaru in confusion.

"That's right, I'm a ninja starting today remember?" replied Naruto while pointing to his forehead protector.

Konohamaru gasped in awe, drawing a grin from the older ninja.

* * *

Far across town, Haruno Sakura was humming a tune to herself while securing her forehead protector in place. She stared at herself in her mirror before winking seductively.

"_Looking good!_" she thought with a giggle.

"Sakura, shouldn't you be leaving now?" called Sakura's mother in a worried tone.

"I was about to go mom!" replied Sakura in annoyance. "_Damn it, I wish you would quit treating me like a child!_" she raved to herself before slipping on her sandals and stepping outside.

The fresh air and sunshine did little to make her feel better as she headed towards the academy.

"_No longer am I a student of the academy. I now stand as one of Konoha's kunoichi. I, the great female ninja, Sakura cannot afford to fail now!_" she thought while looking upwards with renewed determination.

A shrill voice pulled Sakura from her thoughts.

"I'm going now!" said Ino to her mother before exiting her home, which was also a famous flower shop.

Ino turned towards Sakura in surprise before sneering in her direction.

"Why good morning, Sakura," said Ino with mocked politeness.

"Good morning to you too, Ino," she replied just as frostily.

The two girls begun marching side by side to the academy.

"I can't believe someone like you graduated," commented Ino with a smug smile.

Sakura shrugged carelessly before speaking.

"The past doesn't matter anymore, starting today we're both ninja and therefore you're my rival! I'm not going to lose to you anymore Ino!" spat Sakura.

The two glared at each other before they started quickening their paces. Each continued to out walk the other before they both broke into a mad dash to see who would get there first.

* * *

Naruto had arrived a few minutes after his run in with Konohamaru and grimaced upon finding the only available seat next to Sasuke. Reluctantly he sat down and glared determinedly away from his rival.

"Why are you here? Today's explanatory meeting is only for those who graduated," asked Shikamaru as he walked pass.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Hey, can't you see the forehead protector? Starting today I'm also a ninja!" said Naruto with a grin.

Shikamaru whistled in amazement before taking a seat behind Naruto.

"Yeah, so honestly, does it look good on me?" asked Naruto happily as he turned around.

"Whatever," replied Shikamaru bluntly before he put his head down tiredly.

Naruto shrugged before he turned back around to wait for everybody to arrive.

A few minutes later the classroom begun to fill and Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see Elaine and Domino enter the room. He waved excitedly at them as they sat down at a table two rows in front of him. The girls turned around in their seats to chat with Naruto.

"Glad to see you here, Naruto," said Elaine with a smile.

"Yeah, she was worried you might oversleep," joked Domino with a laugh.

"Shut it, you!" cried Elaine who playfully punched Domino in the shoulder.

Naruto laughed.

"I wouldn't miss today for all the Ramen in Konoha!" declared Naruto.

"Are being serious?" asked Domino with a surprised look.

"No," replied Naruto.

The three friends broke into laughter.

"Good one, Naruto," said Elaine while wiping away a tear of laughter.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Speaking of food, Genmaru will be here shortly with our lunch," said Domino with a grin.

Naruto perked up at the sound of that.

"Any idea what he's bringing?" asked Elaine.

Domino looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No, he said he wanted it to be a surprise," she said with a shrug.

"Ah well, I guess it doesn't matter. Anything Genmaru makes is good!" said Elaine with a chuckle.

"What kind of person is Genmaru?" asked Naruto curiously while trying to steer the conversation away from food.

His stomach was already growling hungrily at the thought.

"Oh, Genmaru is really…" started Elaine before she was interrupted by a starry eye Domino.

"He's so dreamy, romantic and cool! Plus he's really strong and a great cook too!" said Domino with a content sigh.

Naruto and Elaine sweat dropped.

"That about sums it up, but I'm not so sure about the first two," joked Elaine.

Suddenly there was the sound of a small stampede outside the room before the door slid open abruptly. Immediately the quarrelling forms of Sakura and Ino tried to squeeze into the room at the same time. Once both were inside the two girls begun arguing.

"I win again, Sakura!" cried Ino.

"What are you talking about? My toe was in the class before yours!" replied Sakura heatedly.

"Are you blind? I was first!" insisted Ino.

"_Ooh, it's Sakura-chan!_" thought Naruto excitedly as his cheeks grew warm.

As if sensing his stare Sakura turned towards Naruto and gazed in his direction with a smile.

"_Yay, she's looking at me!_" thought Naruto happily as his blush deepened.

Sakura begun to run towards Naruto with a noticeable spring in her steps.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" greeted Naruto warmly as he stood up.

"Get out of my way!" she cried before knocking Naruto aside. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" she said dreamily.

Sasuke, who had been quietly meditating, glared at Sakura for interrupting.

"Can I sit next to you?" Sakura asked shyly.

"Oh no you don't, I'm going to sit next to him!" interrupted Ino before Sasuke could reply.

"First come, first serve!" Sakura shot back angrily.

"Shut up! I came in the classroom before you so I should sit next to Sasuke!" growled Ino.

"No me!"

"Me!"

The argument continued for some time and most of the other girls in the class joined in. The only ones who didn't were Elaine and Domino, who were shaking their heads in pity. Naruto merely gazed on in confusion at the quarrelling girls as he picked himself up off the floor. Sasuke closed his eyes tiredly as he tried to tune out the bickering.

"_How annoying,_" thought Sasuke.

* * *

A small crowd of ninjas were gathered in the Hokage's office. All of them were gazing intently at the crystal ball perched on his desk.

"Is that this year's number one rookie, Uchiha Sasuke?" asked one of the ninjas.

"That's right," replied Sarutobi who sat quietly in front of the crystal.

"I hear that he's a survivor of the Uchiha clan," said another ninja.

Sarutobi merely nodded in agreement as the image in the ball moved from face to face displaying all the students present.

* * *

Naruto glared jealously at all the attention Sasuke was getting before he climbed onto the table and kneeled in front of the boy in question. Sensing a presence in front of him, Sasuke opened his eyes to find himself face to face with Naruto. The two begun to glare at each other.

"Naruto, stop staring at Sasuke-kun!" growled the fan girls.

They had all stopped bickering to watch the exchange. Naruto sweat dropped before glancing at Sakura. As expected she too was glaring at Naruto.

"_Sakura-chan…why are you so obsessed with this guy? What's so good about him anyway!?_" thought Naruto before he resumed the staring contest with his rival.

"Beat him up Sasuke-kun!" yelled one of the fan girls.

"Yeah!" chimed in another.

"Are you guys for real?" asked another student sitting directly behind Naruto.

He stood up to glance behind him but accidentally bumped into Naruto. To everyone's shock Naruto was propelled head first into Sasuke. The classroom became very quite and Naruto felt something soft on his lips before he realized that it was Sasuke's. He was kissing Sasuke!! Naruto and Sasuke's eyes grew as wide as saucers before they abruptly broke apart grasping their respective throats and spitting.

All the girls screamed in agony.

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you!" threatened Sasuke as he continued spitting.

"My mouth is going to rot!" moaned Naruto between his own spit.

Naruto ceased spitting at the loud sound of knuckles cracking. Naruto looked around to find the fan girls closing in on him menacingly.

"You're dead Naruto," said Sakura in a dangerously soft tone.

"Wait, it was an accident!" protested Naruto.

"Too late," growled Sakura before the fan girls pounced on the blond prankster.

Naruto closed his eyes in preparation for his pounding when the class room door opened.

"Knock it off!" yelled a smooth and deep voice.

The girls turned around to see who would dare to interrupt a good Naruto bashing before the class grew very quiet.

A handsome boy with wild and spiky black hair and a large lunch box stood in the doorway. He was wearing a pair of black pants and a red Gi. He had a dark blue sash secured around his waist and blood red armbands. His sandals were black instead of the common navy blue everyone else wore and he had a katana strapped to his back. The weapon's handle ended in a realistic looking dragon head that's mouth was permanently frozen in a roar. The boy's forehead protector glinted from it's secure position on his forehead. He had tan skin and his most striking features were a pair of gray eyes that looked like pure mist. These eyes bore intently into everyone else's as he strode into the room.

The girls cleared a path for him as he walked towards Naruto.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" asked the boy.

Naruto who was still a bit shaken up by his near experience with death nodded.

"I'm glad," said the boy before extending his hand. "I've heard a lot about you, Naruto. My name is Genmaru."

Naruto extended his own hand and slowly shook Genmaru's.

"Oh my god! It's Genmaru!!" squealed a fan girl excitedly.

The reaction that followed was extreme. Every single girl in the room, save for a few, surrounded the newcomer while begging him to sign various personal belongings. Genmaru simply ignored them and in a blink of an eye he was sitting next to Domino.

"Sorry I'm late pumpkin, the rolls took longer than I thought to rise," said Genmaru with a grin.

"_Holy…he's fast! I couldn't even follow his movement with my eyes!_" thought a flabbergasted Naruto.

"Darling!" cried Domino happily while cuddling into his chest.

The fan girls, who were looking around in confusion, all glared jealously at Domino before sitting down.

"Since you were late, I get an extra slice of one of your cakes," said Elaine with a smile once the fan girls were seated.

Genmaru laughed.

"Alright, a deal's a deal!" he said to his blue haired friend.

"That was amazing! I've never seen anyone move like that!" cried Naruto suddenly as he approached the spiky haired wonder.

"Hm, that wasn't much," said Genmaru in a offhanded kind of way.

"If you think that's amazing, wait until you see him in battle!" said Domino who still hadn't released Genmaru from her loving embrace yet.

"You must be really strong," said Naruto with a grin. "You're not thinking of becoming Hokage are you?" he asked nervously.

"No way!" replied Genmaru with a laugh. "It's too big of a responsibility!"

"I'm impressed. Since when did responsibility become a part of your vocabulary?" asked Elaine in a teasing manner.

Everyone laughed.

Genmaru suddenly glanced at Sasuke, who was staring intently at the spiky haired joker. Naruto looked as well and was surprised by the tension that radiated from the two. The very air seemed to chill in the wake of Naruto's new found rivals. Then as quickly as it came, it faded as Genmaru waved with a cheery smile. Sasuke merely nodded before returning to his meditative state.

"_The hell!? What was up with that!?_" wondered Naruto in confusion.

He glanced at Elaine who also had a worried frown on her face. Only Domino, who was snuggling with her boyfriend seemed unaware of the tense moment that had just occurred.

"So you plan on becoming Hokage, Naruto? Best of luck with that!" said Genmaru cheerfully.

"Uh, yeah, thanks," Naruto replied shakily before the classroom door opened and Iruka entered.

* * *

"Starting today you are all official ninjas. However, as you are still Genins you should know that it's going to get much tougher from here on. Therefore, you will all be put in teams of three where you will accomplish missions under the supervision of a Jounin teacher," explained Iruka once everyone was seated.

There was a quite murmur of chatter amongst the Genins at the announcement.

"A group of three eh? I wonder who's going to be on Sasuke-kun's team," said Ino to Sakura in a confident tone.

"How should I know!" replied Sakura in annoyance. "_I just have to be paired with Sasuke-kun!_" thought Sakura determinedly.

Sasuke sat quietly as he tried to ignore the girl's conversation.

"_A group of three? That's only going to burden me,_" he thought.

Naruto glanced hopefully at Sakura.

"_I don't care who the other member is as long as I get paired with Sakura-chan. I hope I don't get paired with Sasuke,_" were Naruto's thoughts.

Once everyone quieted down Iruka continued.

"Okay, we've arranged the groups so that everyone's overall abilities are balanced. I will now announce the teams," said Iruka while withdrawing a scroll from his pouch…

* * *

The first six teams had been announced and Iruka was down to the last four.

"Alright, the seventh team will be Uzumaki Naruto," said Iruka drawing Naruto's attention. "Haruno Sakura." he continued.

Naruto erupted in cheers while Sakura gloomily stared at the floor.

"And lastly Uchiha Sasuke. I repeat Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke will be team seven," announced Iruka.

"Yay!" cheered Sakura happily while Naruto tried his best not to pout.

Sasuke merely shrugged indifferently.

"Congratulations, now on to team eight. Hyuuga Hinata."

A cute girl with blackest blue shoulder length hair and pupil less blue-gray eyes looked up. She was wearing a tan hoodie with a pair of navy blue pants. She had her forehead protector tied loosely around her neck.

"Yes," she said shyly.

"Inuzuka Kiba," continued Iruka.

A wild looking boy with a gray hoodie looked up. His hood was lined with thick black fur and he was wearing a pair of gray pants. He had a tan face with red face paint on his cheeks. His black eyes were like slits as he grinned with a mouth full of sharp teeth. His forehead protector was just barely visible beneath the fur of his hood.

"Aburame Shino."

A boy with a large upright afro looked up. He was wearing a long gray coat with a large collar that hid most of his face. He was also wearing a pair of black sunglasses that kept his eyes completely hidden as well as a pair of navy blue pants. His forehead protector was perched on his forehead. He nodded while pushing his shades further up the bridge of his nose.

"I'll repeat it again. Team eight shall be Hinata, Kiba and Shino. Congratulations!" announced Iruka. "Moving right along, the ninth team shall be Shishikura Domino."

Domino grinned excitedly.

"Harime Elaine," continued Iruka.

Elaine stuck her tongue out in pleasure.

"Vaughn Genmaru."

Genmaru smiled coolly before winking at his girlfriend.

"I repeat team nine will be Domino, Elaine and Genmaru. Congratulations!" announced Iruka.

Sakura smiled when she realized who was left and turned to flash Ino a victory pose.

"No fair! Why do you get to be with Sasuke-kun!?" whined Ino as a vein throbbed in her temple.

"_Love once again prevails!_" mused Sakura before turning back around with a pleased smile on her face.

Shikamaru who had been sitting next to Ino groaned at the exchange between the two rivals.

"How annoying. Why do you girls like such a guy anyway?" asked Shikamaru with a frown.

"What, don't you even know that much Shikamaru?" asked Ino quizzically.

"I'm not a girl so I wouldn't know," replied Shikamaru lazily.

"Geez, no wonder you're not popular. I wouldn't want to team up with a guy like you," said Ino with a sigh.

At that moment Iruka spoke up again.

"The last group listed will be Yamanaka Ino."

"_Big surprise there!_" thought the girl in question while rolling her eyes.

"Nara Shikamaru," continued Iruka.

"Looks like you have to team up with me anyway," said Shikamaru with a smirk while Ino growled in frustration.

"And Akimichi Chouji."

A large boy who was munching on a bag on potato chips raised a hand in a quick salute. The boy was wearing a white T-shirt with a green jacket and gray shorts. He had a scarf tied around his neck and swirls on his cheeks. He also had brown hair that was sticking out of a pair of navy blue sumo diapers. Directly on this diaper was the metal plate from his forehead protector.

"_And a fatty!_" groaned Ino to herself.

Chouji choose that moment to glare at Ino as if he had read her mind. Ino winced in terror at his piercing gaze.

"I repeat team ten will be Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji. Congratulations!" announced Iruka. "That's it for the groups."

"Iruka-sensei! Why is a top student like me in a group with this guy!?" demanded Naruto suddenly while pointing at Sasuke.

Iruka looked up in surprise.

"Sasuke graduated with the highest scores. While you, Naruto, are on the very bottom!" replied Iruka with a frown.

The class erupted in laughter while Naruto willed himself to sink into the floor.

"The teams were selected like this to evenly divide the abilities between the groups," Iruka concluded.

"Don't get in my way, dumbass," said Sasuke quietly.

"What did you say Sasuke!?" bellowed Naruto.

"What? You got a problem with what I said, dummy?" said Sasuke even louder which caused the class to burst into laughter again.

"Why you!" roared Naruto who was shaking with rage.

"Stop it, Naruto!" demanded Sakura.

Naruto glared at Sasuke some more before he sat down angrily.

"_One of these days Sasuke, pow, right in the kisser!_" he fumed.

Iruka read a few notes on his clipboard before speaking again.

"I'm going to introduce your Jounin teachers later this afternoon, so until then you're dismissed," announced Iruka.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun! Let's eat lunch together!" cried Sakura after class was over.

'_Sakura had started teasing Ino about her luck and the two girl's begun arguing again. It was some time later before she got the idea to ask her new partner to lunch. But, by the time she had turned around, Sasuke had already ran off._'

"Sasuke-kun, where did you go?" whined Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" came a loud voice behind her.

Sakura turned around to see Naruto waving in her direction as he approached.

"_Great, what does he want!?_" grumbled Sakura under her breath.

"Would you like to join me and some friends for lunch?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Why should I have to eat with you!?" demanded Sakura shrilly.

"Well we're in the same group so I…" begun Naruto before Sakura cut him off suddenly.

"Leave me alone! You're annoying!" she growled before stomping off in search of Sasuke.

"_Annoying?_" thought Naruto sadly while his shoulders slumped in defeat.

* * *

Naruto founded Elaine and the others waiting for him under the shade of a nearby Sakura tree. The pink petals were dancing in harmony as they floated around the group of friends.

"Good timing, Domino was threatening to eat your share of the cake if you hadn't arrived in the next two minutes," said Elaine with a grin

Domino giggled guiltily before sticking her tongue out at Elaine.

"Okay you caught me red handed, but it's your fault for being late you know," said Domino with a teasing pout.

"Right," replied Naruto absently.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" asked Elaine with a worried look.

"Nothing!" he replied a little too quickly.

"That's funny, judging by Sakura's angry expression I say that it looked like something serious to me," said Genmaru quietly.

"Alright out with it, what did she say to you?" demanded Domino.

Naruto sighed before taking on a pained expression.

"She said I was annoying," admitted Naruto sadly.

"That's crazy talk, you're a really cool guy, Naruto," said Domino with a slight touch of irritation evident in her voice. "That girl doesn't know what she's talking about!"

"I agree, she should take the time to get to know you better before casting judgment," added Genmaru.

"Has she always treated you this way?" asked Domino.

"No, she used to be pretty nice to me when we were little," replied Naruto softly. "_But then Sasuke came along!_" he quietly added.

Genmaru smiled before speaking.

"I hear you Naruto. Domino used to be pretty mean to me a few years ago. She would always try to play cruel jokes on me," he said with a grin.

"Hah, you still remember that? My favorite was the time she put makeup on you while you were sleeping. You made a pretty cute girl," said Elaine with a laugh.

"I said I was sorry!" whined Domino but she too was grinning at the memory.

"I know honey," he said with a chuckle before continuing. "Anyway, it took awhile but we started hanging out together more and more often. Before long we were inseparable and we started dating." conclude Genmaru.

"I'm just waiting for their wedding invitation. It's just a matter of time now," teased Elaine which caused the couple to blush profusely.

Naruto grinned.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up guys. Oh and could you add me to the guest list?" joked Naruto.

Everyone laughed.

"Alright, enough chitchat, lets eat!" said Domino while pumping a fist into the air.

The others nodded in agreement before Naruto spoke up.

"If it's alright with you guys, I need a few minutes alone. You know, to clear my head and stuff," he said.

"Sure thing but don't be gone for too long or else the cake will be gone," warned Domino.

"Yeah," grinned Naruto before getting up to leave.

Once Naruto was out of earshot Genmaru piped up.

"He's still depressed," he observed.

"Poor Naruto, he must be taking it awfully hard," agreed Elaine.

Genmaru reached into the lunch box and withdrew a knapsack which he gave to Elaine.

"A gift for Naruto," said Genmaru.

Elaine nodded in understanding before following after Naruto.

* * *

Elaine soon spotted Naruto a little ways ahead of her on the cobble stoned path.

"Naruto!" she called.

The blond kid turned around in surprise and stopped to let Elaine catch up. She paused to catch her breath for a moment before handing Naruto the bag.

"Here you go, just in case you get hungry," said Elaine with a smile.

"Thanks, Elaine," said Naruto with a grin.

Suddenly the blue haired girl embraced Naruto in a hug, much to his surprise.

"Don't let her get to you Naruto. You are going to become the future Hokage, right?" whispered Elaine quietly in his ear.

Naruto hugged her back before replying.

"Of course I am!" he said.

"You promise?" asked Elaine from somewhere near Naruto's shoulder.

"You bet, it's the promise of a lifetime!" replied Naruto with a grin.

Elaine nodded before releasing Naruto.

"Good, I'm glad. See you later!" said Elaine with a smile before she waved and took off down the road to rejoin her friends.

Naruto watched his friend until she faded from sight before smiling to himself. A pleasant aroma wafted from the bag she gave him.

"_Thank you, Elaine,_" he thought with a slight blush before turning around to resume his walk.

* * *

Naruto sat on top of the academy roof in deep thought before his stomach gave an audible growl. Remembering the food Elaine gave him, Naruto opened the bag to peer at the content inside. It turned out to be a container of sweet rice with melted cheese and bits of seasoned beef. There was also a crispy honey covered roll and a slice of cheese cake.

He sampled the rice first only to discover that it was perhaps one of the most delicious dish he ever eaten. The beef seemed to melt in his mouth and mixed well within the harmony of flavors. At times the dish would be spicy before becoming sweet and tangy. Within seconds the container was gone.

"_Genmaru really is an amazing cook!_" thought Naruto happily before he consumed the honey roll.

Naruto had just started on the cheese cake which, amazingly enough, was even more delicious than the rice before he mulled over Sakura's words again.

"_Am I really annoying? Regardless, it's not much fun eating alone. Maybe I should've stayed with Elaine and the others._"

Suddenly Naruto caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced into one of the academy's rarely seen windows to find Sasuke eating a rice cake in silence. As far as Naruto could tell, his rival was alone.

Naruto grinned mischievously.

"_Perfect!_" he thought before tossing the empty bag aside.

* * *

"Alright you two listen up! As long as we're in the same group, you guys are going to follow what I say!" ordered Ino during lunch with her new teammates.

The trio had chosen to eat together on a balcony near the roof of the academy. However, Ino seemed to do more fussing than eating once they got started.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say," replied Shikamaru. "_What a drag, but it's easier not to argue with Ino._"

"You know, we should all go eat barbeque together sometimes," piped up Chouji.

Ino sighed.

"_I wonder if butterball heard a word I said._"

Suddenly Shikamaru spoke up.

"Hey, isn't that Naruto?" he asked while pointing across the balcony.

The others looked in the direction he was pointing. Naruto was stealthily creeping up to a window where Sasuke was eating. Sasuke seemed completely unaware of the danger approaching him. Without warning, Naruto leaped into the window and tackled Sasuke. The others gasped in shock before the window screen slammed shut.

"Naruto, you're going to get it if you hurt Sasuke-kun!" threatened Ino with a growl.

The trio listened to the sound of a scuffle for the next two minutes before the window screen opened. Sasuke emerged from the window with a smirk.

"It looks like Naruto got beaten instead," observed Shikamaru.

"Of course! Naruto is no match for Sasuke-kun after all," replied Ino with a careless shrug.

With a quick glance inside the window to make sure his prey was disabled, Sasuke dashed away towards the academy's picnic area.

* * *

Sakura had just finished eating her lonely meal in silence. She closed the lid of her empty bento box before groaning.

"_So much for eating with Sasuke-kun. But that's okay, as long as I'm in his group there will be plenty more opportunities,_" thought Sakura before sighing. "_Who am I kidding, with my below average figure I have no chance of seducing Sasuke._"

She rubbed her forehead.

"_Only this monster is above average._"

At that moment, Sakura looked up to see Sasuke leaning against a nearby tree with his arms folded. He was staring intently at Sakura with a smirk on his face.

"_Oh my goodness! Sasuke-kun is looking at me!_" Sakura realized with a blush. "_And he's staring with such intensity._"

She closed her eyes blissfully.

'_You have such a charming wide forehead. It makes me want to kiss it,_' said Sasuke.

'_That's what it's for, Sasuke darling,_' replied Sakura dreamily.

Sakura's short lived fantasy came to an end and she sighed at the pitiful odds of such a thing happening.

"Sakura, you have such a charming wide forehead. It makes me want to kiss it," said Sasuke unexpectedly as he approached the pink haired daydreamer.

"_Hell yeah! It's a fairy tale come true!_" thought Sakura happily.

"Just kidding. Only Naruto would say something like that," said Sasuke much to the disappointment of Sakura.

"Oh, right," she said gloomily.

Sasuke sat down next to Sakura.

"I wanted to ask you something," said Sasuke quietly.

"Huh, what is it Sasuke-kun?"

"Naruto, what do you think of him?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura frowned before speaking.

"He has become accustomed to interfering with my love. It's like he enjoys seeing me have trouble. Naruto knows nothing about me. He's just annoying," said Sakura coldly.

Sasuke looked up in surprise.

"I just want you to accept me, Sasuke-kun," continued Sakura more softly.

"Just for me to accept you?" he repeated in surprise.

"Yes, I'll do anything," said Sakura seductively before leaning slowly towards Sasuke with her eyes closed.

Sasuke's heart begun to beat faster and his breathing quickened before he too slowly leaned forward.

* * *

"_Damn, I let my guard down,_" thought Sasuke as he struggled with his bindings.

'_Naruto was tied up upon the floor as Sasuke stood over him._'

'_Idiot,_' he said before the subdued Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke.

'_The smoke cleared to reveal a log in Naruto's place. With a gasp of surprise Sasuke turned around only to be grabbed by four Narutos at once…_'

"_I had no idea that a guy who couldn't even replicate properly could use the shadow replication technique,_" mused Sasuke before his bindings were undone…

* * *

"I'm desperate Sasuke-kun," whispered Sakura, who's lips hovered mere inches from the imposter's.

"_She's so beautiful. I finally understand why I like Sakura-chan so much,_" thought Naruto as he moved to close the shrinking distance between their lips.

Suddenly, Naruto's stomach gave a violent lurch and exploded with pain.

"Ack!" groaned Naruto as he grabbed his protesting stomach. "_The hell!? Diarrhea at a time like this_"

"What's wrong?" asked Sakura.

"Nothing! I'll be right back!" moaned Naruto before he took off as quickly as he could to the bathroom.

"Mmm, Sasuke-kun is such a shy guy. I wonder if he needs to settle his feelings?" said Sakura to herself with an embarrassed smile.

* * *

Naruto had made it to the bathroom just in time it seemed. The moment he sat down with his pants around his ankles, the transformation technique wore off.

"Phew, that was a close one," cried Naruto while wiping sweat off of his brow. "I almost transformed back thanks to my stomachache."

Naruto's gut gave a violent throb as if agreeing with him.

"The hell!?" cringed the blond ninja.

"_What happened back there, why did my stomach start to hurt at such an opportune moment!?_" his eyes softened. "_She still thinks I'm annoying eh?_"

Suddenly Naruto begun to grin evilly.

"We'll see how annoying she thinks I am after I act out an evil Sasuke. Once Sakura-chan hates him, I'll make my move," said Naruto to nobody in particular.

"_Oh yeah! I am too brilliant!_" he grinned before his stomach lurched again.

"Urk!"

* * *

Sakura had been waiting for ten minutes when she saw Sasuke walking down the path. With an excited, smile she stood up.

"Yay, Sasuke-kun! You're such a shy guy after all!" she squealed happily. "Are you emotionally prepared now? I am!" she said.

Sasuke walked past her without saying anything.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke stopped walking and turned towards the puzzled pink haired girl.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked.

"Changing the subject again? Come now, lets forget about Naruto. All he does is pick fights with you anyway," said Sakura in annoyance. "I'll bet it because of his childhood.

Sasuke pointedly chose to ignore her and glanced around for Naruto.

"Oh yeah," she continued, unaware that Sasuke wasn't listening. "You know that he doesn't have parents right?

This caught Sasuke's attention and he glared at Sakura for bringing up such a touchy subject.

"He's always doing selfish things. My parents would scold at me if I did those things. Since he's alone, I bet nobody ever gets mad at him. That's most likely why he's so selfish," concluded Sakura.

A chilly breeze picked up and Sasuke's hair swayed in the wind.

"The solitude…you can't even begin to compare it to the level of an upset parent," said Sasuke quietly.

"Huh? What's the matter Sasuke?" asked Sakura worriedly when she heard the sudden frostiness in his voice.

"You're annoying," said Sasuke coldly and he glared at Sakura before walking away.

* * *

"Damn, it finally stopped," moaned Naruto once his stomach calmed down.

After cleaning himself up Naruto left the bathroom, which now had a noticeable reek.

"I wonder if Sakura-chan is still waiting for me?"

Naruto begun running back to the picnic area, only to be intercepted by Sasuke. Naruto cried out in surprise before skidding to a halt in front of Sasuke.

"What are you doing here!?" demanded Naruto.

"Simple it a basic rope untying technique," declared Sasuke with a superior smile.

Naruto begun to sweat drop at his error.

"So what were you planning on doing after transforming into me?" demanded Sasuke.

"I did it just because it seemed like fun!" Naruto lied.

Quickly he crossed his hands and when up in a cloud of smoke.

"Damn it, the shadow replication again?" groaned Sasuke as he prepared himself for a difficult struggle.

"I'll show you…" said a Naruto.

"That I'm really great…" added another

"By defeating you!" declared a third.

"Prepare yourself!" they all cried in unison before the Narutos rushed at Sasuke.

Suddenly there came the sound of several grumbling stomachs. All of the Narutos stopped in mid charge to grasp their protesting bellies.

"Arggh, my stomach is hurting again!" they wailed before rushing as one to the bathroom.

Once at the door, the clones begun fighting to see who would go in first.

"_How stupid,_" thought Sasuke before walking back to the academy.

* * *

Sakura sat quietly by herself as she reflected on the conversation with Sasuke.

"_You're annoying, huh? I wonder if Naruto felt the same way?_"

Sakura silently made a patch with herself.

"_Maybe I should start being a bit nicer._"

As if on cue, Naruto came into the picnic area grumbling to himself.

"Damn it, did I eat something weird? I wonder if it was Genmaru's cooking," complained Naruto.

Forcing a smile to her face, Sakura stood up to greet her blond partner.

"Let's go back to class together Naruto!" said Sakura with a wave.

"Sakura-chan?" said Naruto in surprise. "_No way, she's too nice to be the real Sakura. Sasuke must've transformed into Sakura to get me back for what I did._" thought Naruto suspiciously. "I see, you're trying to trick me aren't you, Sasuke! There's no way that I'm going to fall for it!"

Naruto formed the hand seal for the shadow replication and was just about to execute it when suddenly…

"_Cripes, not again!_" moaned Naruto as his stomach churned.

Immediately he ran back to the bathroom. A vein throbbed in Sakura temple before she yelled at Naruto's fleeing back.

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT!!" she roared.

* * *

"This is the last one," said Sarutobi to a tall ninja standing behind him.

"So this is Uzumaki Naruto's house?" the ninja asked as he looked around.

"That's right, the third member of your team," nodded Sarutobi.

The ninja then picked up the milk carton Naruto had drank from that morning and frowned.

"This milk expired a while ago. He's going to get a stomachache if he drinks this," said the ninja.

* * *

"WHY THE HECK IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!!" wailed Naruto from his perch of the toilet before his stomach lurched violently…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo everyone! This is Aninene the Legendary Fox Demon speaking, for those who haven heard it before. :P This chapter turned out to be extremely fun to write and I played around with a lot of ideas this time. This also happens to be about one of the funniest moments in the Anime so I hope it turned out well. I'm sorry that I didn't release it sooner. I was going to submit this chapter yesterday but my computer and I got caught in a hostile takeover by my roommate.

Alright, I hate to say it but I'm kind of sad. Only one person submitted a review this time. Please guys, don't be afraid to speak your mind. I enjoy the feedback just as much as writing the story regardless of whether it's positive or negative. Now let's answer a review!

KitsuneThief2: Really? I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Just like you said, I'm trying to find inventive ways to introduce my special characters into tale without clashing with the original story. I'm happy you think I've done this well, but just you wait! I assure you that it'll get even better :)

Alright guys, the story is finally picking up the pace. There's going to be some difficult times and extreme battles coming soon for Naruto and his friends. Hang on to that hat, the blasts are sure to blow you away.

On to the disclaimer. From here and forever more I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything other than that belongs to Bandai and its creator.

Phew, what a mouth full. Anyway, see you guys in chapter four. A certain favorite Ninja will be making his appearance! ;) Ta ta now!


	4. Testing Time!

**Trial of the Silver Bells!**

**Survival Training!**

"He sure is late!" complained Naruto for the seventh time that afternoon.

He, Sasuke and Sakura had been waiting for their new Jounin teacher for over two hours. Everyone else, including Iruka, had left more than an hour ago. Currently Sasuke was quietly meditating while Sakura stood next to him with admiration etched on her face. Naruto was glancing outside of the class in search of their mystery teacher.

"Naruto, would you stay still! You're even starting to make me anxious!" complained Sakura with a frown.

"I can't help it! Why the hell is he so late?" whined Naruto with a glance over his shoulder. "Everyone else has already gone off with their teachers! Even Iruka-sensei left already!"

"I don't know, Naruto!" replied Sakura in exasperation.

Naruto begun to wickedly grin.

"_Alright, he asked for it,_" thought Naruto while temporarily reverting back to prankster mode.

Naruto grabbed a dusty eraser from the blackboard as well as a stool. That stool was propped near the classroom door where Naruto hopped on top of it. Carefully he wedged the eraser between a small crack in the door, setting up a perfect booby trap.

"Hey! What in the world are you doing, Naruto?" asked Sakura in confusion.

Sasuke also looked up in curiosity. Naruto just chuckled wickedly before hopping off of the stool.

"Ah, you wouldn't?" asked Sakura upon seeing the trap.

"Well it's his fault for being late!" declared Naruto with a grin.

"Geez…I am so not involved," said Sakura with a frown. "_But you know, that's a pretty good idea._"

"Hmp, like a Jounin would really fall for such a simple booby trap," said Sasuke quietly.

"Right!" chimed in Sakura. "Naruto, you are so stupid!"

Suddenly a hand appeared in the door. Everyone stared in anticipation to see what would happen. The door opened, and the eraser fell with a dusty plop onto the intruder's head. For a moment everyone was deadly quite, then Naruto broke into crazed laughter.

"You fell for it! What an idiot!" cried Naruto between laughter.

"I-I'm so sorry, sensei!" stammered Sakura in a deceptive worried innocent act. "_Like hell I am, what a hoot!_" thought Sakura while trying to suppress a snicker.

Sasuke merely stared at the newcomer.

"_Seriously? He's really a Jounin?_" he thought to himself in disbelief.

The victim of Naruto's prank was a tall man with long gray hair that was leaning to the side. He was dressed in the same ninja outfit as Iruka. However, he was wearing a navy blue mask that completely covered the lower half of his face. The ninja's forehead protector was draped over his left eye.

He bent over to pick up the eraser and glanced thoughtfully at it for a moment before speaking.

"Hmm, how should I say this? My first impression is, well, I don't like you guys."

Everyone sweat dropped…

* * *

By the request of their new sensei, the quartet had moved from the classroom and were now settling down on top of the roof.

"Okay, lets begin with some introductions," said the grayed haired man quietly.

"Introductions? What should we say?" asked Sakura.

"How about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that," replied the tall ninja.

"Alright, but shouldn't you introduce yourself to us first?" asked Naruto, wanting to see how it was suppose to be done so as not to embarrass himself by saying the wrong thing.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi," said Kakashi while pointing to himself. "I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes."

The others looked up in confusion.

"Dreams for the future, eh? Hmm…well I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi concluded.

"So all we learned is his name?" whispered Sakura in annoyance to her teammates.

They nodded, easily just as irked as the bubblegum haired girl.

"Alright, now it's your turn," said Kakashi while crossing his arms. "You first," he said with a nod towards Naruto.

"Okay, my name is Uzumaki Naruto!" said the boy excitedly. "I like cup ramen! What I like even more is the Ichiraku Ramen that Iruka-sensei buys me a lot! What I dislike, is waiting three minutes for cup ramen to cook! My hobby is eating tons of cup ramen! My dream for the future, is to surpass all the Hokages! Then I will have all the people in this village acknowledge my existence!" he concluded with a determined smile.

"_I see, he has grown in a interesting way,_" thought Kakashi to himself. "Okay, next."

Sakura spoke up first.

"I'm Haruno Sakura!" she begun with excitement. "What I like is well…The person I like is…" she paused to glance at Sasuke with a blush. "My hobbies are…" she glanced at Sasuke again. "Well, my dreams for the future are…" she looked again before squealing in happiness like a typical fangirl.

"And? What you dislike?" asked Kakashi.

"It's Naruto," she replied much to the anguish of Naruto.

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"_Girls of this age are more interested in love than Ninjutsu,_" he thought to himself. "And the last one?" asked the older ninja.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he said quietly. "There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything."

Sakura let out a silent oh of surprise and disappointment.

"Also, I don't want to use the word dream, but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and definitely to kill a certain man," Sasuke concluded darkly.

Everyone stared at Sasuke with a noticeable temperature drop overtaking the air.

"_He better not mean me,_" thought Naruto with a chill as he remember the events from earlier that morning.

"_Sasuke-kun is so cool!_" thought Sakura with a look of awe.

"_I thought so,_" thought Kakashi darkly. "Okay, you guys are all interesting. We'll start our missions tomorrow," he announced.

"Aye aye, what kind of missions?" asked Naruto with a cheery salute.

"Before that, we're going to do something we can do with just the four of us," declared Kakashi.

"What what what what?" asked Naruto, voicing the thoughts of everyone present.

"Survival training," replied Kakashi.

"Survival training?" echoed Naruto in confusion.

"Why is training a part of our mission? Didn't we do enough training at the academy?" asked Sakura who was just as puzzled.

"This isn't normal training," replied Kakashi.

"Then what kind of training is it?" asked Naruto who once again voiced what was on everyone's mind.

Kakashi begun to chuckle.

"Hey, what's so funny sensei? That was a normal question," asked Sakura with a frown.

"No, well, it's just that when you guys hear this, you're definitely gonna flip!" replied Kakashi between laughter.

"Huh?" came Naruto with everyone's thoughts again.

"Of the thirty graduates, only twelve will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. So this training is a highly difficult test with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent," said Kakashi gravely.

Everyone gasped in shock at the news. Kakashi chuckled again.

"See! I told you you'd flip!" he said between laughter.

"What the hell!? But we worked so hard! If that's the case, what was the point of graduating!?" cried Naruto in dismay.

"Oh that? It was just to select those that have a chance of becoming Genin," replied Kakashi seriously.

"Whaaat!?" moaned Naruto.

"Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Be sure to bring all your Shinobi equipment and assemble at 5a.m.!" ordered Kakashi. "Okay, you're dismissed!" said Kakashi with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and skip breakfast. You'll throw up," he added as an afterthought.

Naruto begun trembling after the announcements were done.

"_I can't fail here! I have to have my strength acknowledged. I promised Elaine!_" thought Naruto.

"_If I fail this, I'll be separated from Sasuke-kun. This is a test of love!_" thought Sakura who was also trembling.

Sasuke, who was the only one not shaken up by the news, cracked his knuckles quietly.

With that said and done, the trio went home to prepare for the exam that would determine their fates…

* * *

The sky was still very dark when 5a.m. rolled around and just as they had been ordered, the trio of rookie ninjas met on the school's training field.

"Good morning," greeted Sakura groggily.

"Hey…" mumbled Naruto sleepily in reply.

Sasuke was the only one who looked well rested and he remained silent as usual.

For the next two hours they waited for Kakashi. The morning sun had just begun to dispel the chilly spring air before the group heard a familiar voice.

"Hey guys, good morning," greeted Kakashi.

"YOU'RE LATE!!" roared Naruto and Sakura in unison.

Sasuke merely crossed his arms and glared in irritation.

"Sorry, a black cat cross my path and …" Kakashi begun.

The trio growled in annoyance. Seeing that he was getting nowhere with his tall tale, Kakashi cleared his throat before speaking.

"Oh, well…guess you guys aren't in the mood. So lets get started."

Kakashi withdrew a large clock from his backpack and placed it upon a nearby tree stump situated next to three wooden training posts. He pushed the button on top of it before facing the group.

"Okay, it's set for noon. Your objective for today is to take these two bells from me before time expires," explained Kakashi while dangling two silver bells in front of the group. "Those who cannot get a bell before noon will get no lunch! I'll not only tie you to one of those posts, but I'll eat right in front of you."

The trio rubbed their grumbling stomachs upon hearing the news.

"_So telling us not to eat breakfast was for this,_" they all thought as one.

"But hold on, why are there only two bells?" asked Sakura

"Because there are only two bells, one of you will definitely be tied to a post and that person will fail," said Kakashi with a masked smile. "So at least one of you will be sent back to the academy. Don't be fooled though, it might just be one but it could be all three. With that in mind, feel free to use your shurikens. You won't be able to get a bell unless you come at me with killer intent."

"But you'll be in danger, Sensei!" stated Sakura with a worried look.

Naruto laughed.

"Yeah, you couldn't even dodge a blackboard eraser!" Naruto joked loudly.

Kakashi glared at Naruto.

"In the real world, those with the least talent often bark loudest. We'll ignore Mr. dead last and start when I say," said Kakashi.

"_Dead last!!_" thought Naruto angrily.

Naruto charged at Kakashi with a kunai drawn. Needless to say, he was seeing red. Naruto had barely taken two steps before he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Before he knew it, Naruto's arm had been twisted behind his back with his own ninja tool pointed at the back of his head. Everyone gasped in shock to see Kakashi standing behind Naruto, holding his wrist in a iron vice like grip.

"Slow down, I didn't say to start yet," said Kakashi in a dangerously soft voice.

Naruto winced in pain while the others cautiously backed away. Kakashi then released Naruto who cradled his throbbing wrist.

"_No way! I didn't even see him move!_" thought Sakura in shock.

"_So this is a Jounin,_" thought Sasuke with a glare.

As if sensing the tension Kakashi nodded in approval.

"It seems that now you are prepared to come at me with the intent to kill," said Kakashi calmly before laughing. "Seems like I'll finally be able to like you guys. So lets get started. Ready, start!" yelled Kakashi before the trio disappeared in a blur of movement…

* * *

Iruka sat across from the Hokage in a small tea café for an arranged meeting.

"So what did you want to know? I'm sure you didn't just call me out here for tea," asked Sarutobi.

"It's about the Jounin assigned to Naruto's team. Could you tell me what kind of person he is? Is he strict?" asked Iruka after he collected his thoughts.

"You mean Kakashi? Are you worried?"

"I heard some distressing rumors, so…" started Iruka before he was silenced with a wave of Sarutobi's hand.

The Third reached into his robes and withdrew a small book titled 'The Way of the Ninja.'

"What's this?" asked Iruka.

"A list of Genin assigned to Kakashi up to this point," replied Sarutobi.

With a nod Iruka took the book and begun flipping through the pages. His eyes grew wider with each passing page before he stared at Sarutobi with panic evident in his eyes.

"Hokage-sama, this is terrible!" exclaimed Iruka.

"Aye, Kakashi's test may be a bit difficult," agreed Sarutobi.

"Just a bit!? There are nothing but zeros in here!" cried Iruka.

"That's right, Kakashi hasn't passed a single person in his history as a Jounin. Everyone who has tried has failed," confirmed Sarutobi.

"Unbelievable…it's hard to believe that he has never passed a single student," moaned Iruka.

"Come now, Iruka. Even I don't know if those three should become ninjas right away, but Kakashi's judgment is very accurate. None of the students in that book were ready," explained Sarutobi before taking a sip of tea. "Perhaps you'll understand if I tell you the tale of Uchiha Obito…"

* * *

Kakashi surveyed the area in search of his students.

"_Excellent, they are concealed well. Thus is the basic of being a Shinobi._"

Sensing a presence in front of him, Kakashi looked up to find Naruto standing there with his arms crossed.

"Come and fight me!" cried Naruto confidently.

Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Um, you're a little bit off," said Kakashi to his proud student.

"The only thing a little bit off, is your taste in hair styles!" quipped Naruto before he rushed his Sensei.

"_Cocky kid,_" thought Kakashi while reaching into his pouch.

Seeing the sudden move, Naruto came to an immediate halt and awaited Kakashi's attack.

"Ninja fighting lesson number one! I'll teach you about Taijutsu," said Kakashi.

"_Taijutsu is ninja hand to hand combat, yet he's going to use a weapon? What is he playing at?_" thought Naruto before sinking into a horribly sloppy battle pose.

Much to Naruto's surprise, Kakashi pulled a book out of his pouch.

"What's wrong? Hurry and come at me," verbally invited Kakashi while turning a page.

"But why do you have a book?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"Why? Well because I want to find out what happens next. Don't worry about it. It won't make a difference against you guys," replied Kakashi while turning another page.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched and he clenched his fist before charging at Kakashi with murder in his eyes.

"I'm gonna beat you into a pulp!" roared Naruto.

Naruto leaped into the air and begun his assault with a vicious backhand. Kakashi caught the blow in his palm without even looking up from the book.

"Damn you, you bastard!!" cried Naruto before he leaped again.

This time he executed a powerful spin kick but, Kakashi ducked causing Naruto's momentum to send him sailing harmlessly pass. The moment Naruto landed, he kicked off back in Kakashi's direction with a wild power punch only to hit empty air.

"_Damn, where the hell did he go!?_" thought Naruto before a familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

"A ninja isn't suppose to get caught from behind over and over, baka," said Kakashi.

"Naruto, get out of there! You're going to be killed!" came the voice of Sakura from somewhere in the scrubs.

"What!?" said Naruto in confusion.

"Too late, Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique!" chanted Kakashi before trusting his clasped fingers forward.

Naruto suddenly felt a tremendous amount of pressure enter his back side. It soon gave way to an explosion of sharp pain before he was launched seven feet into the air!

"One Thousand Years of Pain!!" shouted Kakashi.

Naruto was soon seized by gravity again before falling into a small stream which was mercifully nearby.

"There, now lets see what happens next," muttered Kakashi to himself as he resumed reading his book…

* * *

"_Damn it! This wasn't suppose to happen!_" thought Naruto while trying to ignore the pain in his smarting ass.

Elaine flashed through his mind and with renewed determination sparked by his promise Naruto swam back to the surface.

* * *

"_Soon, the opportunity will present itself,_" thought Sasuke.

His hand hovered only inches from his kunai and shuriken pouch. Sasuke smirked at the thought as he watched Naruto's pathetic efforts from his perch in the trees.

Suddenly there was a splash, and two shuriken came flying out of the stream towards Kakashi. Just as they were about to hit, Kakashi stopped them in mid-flight with his fingers. The twin stars rotated harmlessly on Kakashi's index and middle fingers before he pocketed them. Never once did his eyes leave his book.

Sasuke's shoulders slumped in shock.

"No way!" he whispered to himself…

* * *

Naruto surfaced coughing and sputtering.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell by noon, you get no lunch," reminded Kakashi as he turned another page.

"I know that!" whined Naruto

"You sure are weak for someone who is going to surpass the Hokage," said Kakashi while looking up from his book for just a second.

Naruto's stomach growled loudly.

"Damn! I can still fight on an empty stomach! I was just a little careless!" moaned Naruto, absolutely refusing to show weakness.

Kakashi ignored him and resumed reading with his back turned.

"_Damn, I'm starving and I have no strength! But no matter what, I have to get a bell! I swear I'll do it on the promise I made to Elaine!_"

The stream's peaceful surface suddenly erupted with several loud splashes. Kakashi turned around at the noise to find a team of Narutos bursting out of the water.

"_What the!?_"

"Hah, you were careless! Behold my specialty, Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto with a laugh.

Once the clones landed, the platoon charged.

"_The forbidden Ninjutsu he defeated Mizuki with?_" thought Kakashi while turning towards his attackers. "_With your current ability, you won't last but a minute. It doesn't matter how many you line up, because in the end you're still Naruto. You can't beat me with that technique yet, kid._"

Suddenly Kakashi felt something latch onto his back.

"What, you were behind me!?" cried Kakashi once he spotted a patch of blond hair over his shoulder.

"Like you said Sensei, ninjas aren't suppose to get caught from behind, baka," confirmed Naruto with a victorious grin. "Using Kage-Bunshin I sent a clone out of the water to sneak around behind you," bragged the Naruto latched onto Kakashi's back while six more grabbed onto his legs and arms.

The last one jumped into the air.

"My ass is still hurting you know! So here comes revenge!!" this one cried with a grin.

The distance closed quickly and once Naruto was in range he reared back his fist.

"I'm going to punch you!" he bellowed before swinging.

Naruto only blinked once before the blow connected, but instead of Kakashi he found that he was hitting a Naruto.

"_What?_" he thought in confusion.

The Naruto he hit landed painfully on his back before moaning in pain.

"Itai!!" he cried.

"Impossible! You're Kakashi-sensei aren't you!?" bellowed a Naruto before charging.

"He must've used Henge to transform!" yelled another before charging as well.

The other clones joined in to help their comrades but in the confusion, they couldn't tell each other apart. The sparring blonds were now engaged in a furious free for all. The battle lasted a full minute before one of the Narutos spoke up.

"Cancel the Jutsu, then you'll know who Kakashi is since there will only be two of you!" said a clone.

"Why didn't you realize that sooner you idiot!" screamed another before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

The other clones followed suit and before long only the real Naruto remained. Kakashi was nowhere in sight…

* * *

"_That was Kawarimi you idiot,_" thought Sasuke with a frown from his perch in the treetops. "_It's an elaborate technique that switches the user with another object or animal. In this case he switched with a clone thus making you use your own technique against yourself._"

"Damn, does this guy have a weakness?" he whispered.

* * *

"_Aw man, I can't believe he tricked me!_" Naruto grimaced.

Suddenly there was a flash of light out the corner of his eye.

"Hm? Is that…a bell!" Naruto cried happily. "_He must have been in such a hurry to escape that he dropped one!_" he thought with a laugh before running to retrieve it.

He was just about to pick it up when suddenly Naruto felt something snare his legs. Naruto only had time to blink in surprise before he found himself dangling upside down from a tree branch.

"What the hell is this, some kind of trap!?" Naruto wailed.

Once Naruto stopped bouncing around so much, he stretched his body as far as he could in the hopes of picking up the bell. Sadly the shiny piece of silver was too far out of his reach.

"Think before using a Jutsu, or it may be used against you," came Kakashi's voice from somewhere out of his sight before he saw his Sensei's hand pick up the bell. "Also, don't fall for such obvious traps, baka," he added with a masked smile.

"_God damn it!_" Naruto angrily struggled with his bindings.

"You do realize that a ninja must be able to read what's underneath the underneath," said Kakashi.

"I know that stuff!" wailed Naruto.

"I'm telling you because you don't. You think you get it, which isn't the same as actually getting it, get it?" said Kakashi with a masked grin. "Listen Naruto, you're movements are too predictable, not to mention wasteful!" he lectured.

* * *

Sasuke had been watching the exchange carefully before he tensed.

"_This is it! I have to act now!_"

In one fluid move, Sasuke hurled a swarm of kunai and shuriken from his pouch. He smiled as he watched his projectiles fly…

* * *

"Geez kid, were you even paying attention during cla…?" droned Kakashi before the unthinkable happened.

Naruto stared in horror when he saw Kakashi's one visible eye glaze over. Several metal knifes and stars were sticking out of the side of his head. Then he slowly begun to fall.

"God damn! Sasuke you bastard, you went too far!" cried Naruto towards the direction in which the death weapons came.

Kakashi seemed to fall in slow motion before he was enveloped in a poof of smoke. When the cloud cleared, the kunai and shuriken were now embedded in a log…

* * *

"_Shit, he used another replacement!_" groaned Sasuke. "_He knows I'm here!_"

Quickly the black haired boy made a break for it…

* * *

"_Where is Sasuke-kun!?_" thought Sakura as she frantically dashed thru the foliage in search of him. "_Did Sensei get him? No, he couldn't have. Please let him be alright!_"

Sakura skidded to a halt upon seeing a patch of silver hair behind a bush. Sadly her momentum wouldn't let her stop quickly enough and she smashed into some scrubs. Kakashi didn't seem to hear the rustling leaves and proceeded to turn another page in his book.

"_That was too close! It doesn't look like he heard me,_" the pink haired girl watched intently for any signs of movement when all of a sudden…

"Behind you, Sakura," came the voice she dreaded to hear.

Sakura turned around to find herself face to face with Kakashi. Without warning Kakashi clasped his hands together. A strong breeze picked up, causing a bunch of leaves to twirl around them.

Pinky screamed…

* * *

"Ninjas need to be able to read what's beneath the beneath he says. Hmp, I'll never fall for his traps again!" complained Naruto.

He trusted himself forward and with a kunai in hand and cut through his bindings. Immediately he felt the pull of gravity. Acting on instincts alone, Naruto pulled off a triple flip before landing gracefully on his feet.

"_Hah, bet you didn't see that coming Sensei!_" he thought with a grin.

Naruto spoke too soon. Immediately he was snared again by the same kind of trap. Naruto released a stream of language so foul that even the nearby squirrels took off in disgust.

Naruto then screamed as loud as he could, to vent his frustration on all who were listening…

* * *

"What in the world was that and hey, were did Sensei go?" asked Sakura when the wind died down.

All was quiet at first and Sakura didn't feel any presences nearby.

"Weird, what's going on?" she whispered.

The air felt different, almost as if it were trying to crush her. Then she heard a soft voice.

"Sakura…" it said.

"_That voice, it sounds like…_" she whirled around with an excited smile. "Sasuke-kun!"

The sight that befell her, was like a nightmare come true. Sasuke laided on the ground in front of her with several kunai logged in his back. His leg was bent at an unnatural angle and there was so much blood. The very ground around him was stained with the crimson fluid.

"Sakura…help…me…" Sasuke whispered before slumping face first into the growing puddle of his own fluids.

Sakura felt cold, and she became deadly pale before she released a blood curling shriek. Then just like that, she knew no more…

* * *

"Sakura! She must be in trouble," thought Sasuke when he heard her shriek.

"Don't worry, she's in no danger," said a voice behind him. "She just got a sample of Shinobi lesson number two, Genjutsu. Sad to say, but she was easily fooled by the illusion."

"I see…" said Sasuke quietly without turning around. "She and Naruto may have been fooled by your trickery, but you should know that I'm different from them…Sensei."

"Is that so? Well why don't you say that after getting a bell, Sasuke-kun," replied Kakashi from somewhere behind him.

Sasuke turned around and glared determinedly at his teacher. The two ninjas stared at each other for several minutes before Sasuke broke the standoff. In one fluid move Sasuke drew and hurled several shuriken at Kakashi. His effort was in vain however. By the time the stars left his finger tips, Kakashi had already moved.

"Come now, there's no use in using normal attacks," taunted Kakashi from somewhere to Sasuke's left.

Sasuke smirked before tossing another shuriken in the opposite direction.

"_What?_" was Kakashi's only thought before the flying star cut through a thread hidden in the foliage. "_Crap, it was a trap!_"

With the trigger activated, a wave of kunai were launched in his direction. Kakashi quickly leaped aside and skidded to a halt to look around. Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Kakashi suddenly felt a presence behind him and turned around just in time to see a kick sailing towards his face. The older ninja quickly blocked it with his forearm but he still grunted from the force of the attack. He grabbed a hold of Sasuke's leg before the younger ninja could withdraw it. The rookie didn't let that stop him though. Rearing back, he lunged forward with a vicious hammer blow in which Kakashi caught with his free hand. Sasuke pulled on his ensnared hand in order to gather enough momentum to swing his other leg around for an attack. Once again Kakashi blocked it with his forearm.

Sasuke smirked at his teacher's predicament and reached forward with his free hand to grab one of the bells.

"You!" cried Kakashi in surprise before quickly hopping backwards.

Sasuke did a forward flip in midair and landed gracefully on his feet before turning to glare at Kakashi.

"Dammit!" Sasuke hissed under his breath.

"_What a guy, he almost had me there! Looks like I won't have time to read Flirting Paradise,_" thought a wide eyed Kakashi.

Once again, they were locked in a standoff…

* * *

Naruto was quietly meditating in his new found hangout as he tried to predict what other kind of traps Kakashi might have set.

"_Exploding tags? No, too risky. Bottomless hole? No, would have taken too long to set up._"

Suddenly, Naruto caught the scent of food in the air. He opened his eyes and glanced in the direction of the aroma. Perched upon a nearby stone were two containers of food.

"Hah, there's lunch!"

He snickered.

"A ninja needs to perceive what lays beneath eh? I'll make you eat those words, Sensei!"

With that said, he once again cut through his bindings…

* * *

Around this time, Sakura had finally awaken.

"What happened and why am I…Sasuke-kun!!" she cried with a start.

She looked around but saw no sign of her fellow teammate.

"_Impossible! He was so badly hurt and there was all that blood! Someone must've moved him!_"

"Sasuke-kun, where are you?!" she wailed before racing into the forest…

* * *

"Okay I'll admit it Sasuke-kun, you're definitely different from those two," acknowledged Kakashi.

Sasuke merely glared before quickly flashing through a series of hand seals. Once finished he clashed his hands together with the middle and index fingers on both hands extended and took a deep breath.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" he bellowed.

"_No way! The Grand Fireball technique isn't something a Genin should be able to do! At this level he shouldn't have enough chakra!_" thought Kakashi with a wide eye.

But Sasuke did have enough it seemed. Forming a narrow tunnel with his right hand, he blew into it causing a jet of flame to shoot forward! Sasuke blew until the flames shrunk a bit before releasing the Jutsu.

"_Good riddance,_" he thought while waiting for the flame to reveal a charred corpse.

When the fires finally vanished completely Sasuke found the spot where Kakashi had been standing completely empty.

"He's gone!" he exclaimed. "_Is he behind me? No, above? No, then where?_" he thought while glancing about.

"I'm beneath you!" cried Kakashi in answer to Sasuke's unspoken thoughts.

A hand popped out of the ground and grasped Sasuke's ankle.

"Doton, Shinjuuzanshu no Jutsu!" bellowed Kakashi's voice before the hand pulled Sasuke into the earth.

Sasuke barely had time to scream before the earth rose up to meet him. Fortunately he stopped his descend just before his head was completely covered. In a flash of rapid movement Kakashi appeared in front of Sasuke in a crouched position.

"How do you like the third Shinobi lesson, Ninjutsu? Can't move can you?" asked Kakashi with a masked smile. "This is the Suicidal Beheading technique, is it effective?"

Sasuke glared at the ground instead of answering.

"I see, well anyway it looks like your talents are exceptional. But as they say, stakes that point out, get driven back into the earth in the end."

Kakashi rose from his crouch and withdrew his book again before walking off into the forest…

* * *

"Where could Sasuke-kun be? I've been searching for over ten minutes!" whined Sakura.

She saw light in front of her and quickly ran towards it. She burst through the foliage with a relieved sigh.

"_Finally made it out of that forest!_" she thought well sucking in some much needed air.

After catching her breath, she glanced around before doing a double take. Sasuke's head was sticking out of the ground. Sakura's eyes grew to the size of orbs before she passed out again.

Sasuke sweat dropped.

"What's the matter with her?" he wondered…

* * *

"I am such a genius! All I have to do is eat this while hiding instead of getting a bell and I'm home free!" said Naruto with a laugh. "Itadakimasu!"

"Hey," came Kakashi's dreaded voice from behind him.

Naruto sweat dropped.

"I was just kidding, Sensei!" he said with a nervous chuckle. "I wasn't really gonna eat…"

"Too late!"

Kakashi pounced…

* * *

By the time Sakura came around again, Sasuke had managed to dig his way out of the ground. It was lucky for him that the soil was fairly loose or he never would have gotten out. Sakura opened her eyes and looked at a blurry image of Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun?" she whispered.

Once her eyes came completely into focus she latched onto her crush's waist.

"You're okay!" she cried happily.

"The hell?! Don't get so close, get off of me!" Sasuke protested with a annoyed frown.

Once she was certain that Sasuke was alright, she let go of him. He immediately backed away just in case she tried to hug him again before speaking.

"There's still a little bit of time before noon so I'm going after Kakashi-sensei," he announced.

"You're still going to try to get a bell?" asked Sakura.

"Well I was able to touch one a while ago, so I'm sure I'll be able to get it this time," he replied.

"Oh is that so? You're amazing, Sasuke-kun," she said with a cheery smile. "_Damn, if he couldn't do it then how will I be able to get a bell!?_"

Sasuke didn't respond and choose instead to stare impatiently at Sakura.

"You know, since we have only a little bit of time left why don't we just give up for now and try harder next time?" she suggested.

Sasuke's stare turned into a glare before he turned his back on her.

"_Shoot, I must've said the wrong thing again,_" thought Sakura sadly.

"Only I can kill that man," said Sasuke darkly as a chilly breeze picked up.

"What? You don't mean Sensei do you?" she asked with wide eyes.

Sasuke didn't seem to hear her.

"I was crying at that time," he continued.

"Crying?" echoed Sakura.

The wind blew more fiercely than before. Sasuke's voice grew stronger.

"I am an avenger. I must become stronger than him so I can't afford to stumble now."

Sakura's eyes widened as she recalled Sasuke's words from yesterday when they were on the roof. A loud chime roused her from her thoughts.

"Damn, I wasted my time talking," said Sasuke bitterly before he trekked back to the meeting site.

Sakura followed fearfully behind…

* * *

They arrived to find Naruto tied securely to a post with a grumpy pout on his face. Wordlessly they sat down on either side of him to wait for Kakashi's verdict. Kakashi placed the two lunch trays in front of the trio, triggering several loud grumbles from their respective stomachs.

"Oh, you're stomachs are growling eh?" observed Kakashi with his arms folded. "Well before we address that, I want to comment on the results of your training. From what I can see, none of you need to return to the academy."

Everyone's eyes widen in surprise.

"_Yeah! Love prevails, dammit!_" thought Sakura happily before she started cheering.

"Does that mean that we three…?" asked Naruto who was too happy to finish the sentence.

Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, you three…" begun Kakashi with a masked smile. "Should quit being ninjas!" he bellowed.

Everyone stopped smiling while Kakashi glared at them. For once, it didn't look like the gray haired ninja was making a lazy joke.

"Quit being ninjas! What in the world for?" screamed Naruto. "Sure we couldn't get a bell, but that's no reason to quit!"

"It's simple really. You three are just a bunch of kids who don't even deserve to be ninjas," replied Kakashi with his hands on his hips.

Suddenly there was a flash of movement and everyone turned towards it to see Sasuke charging at Kakashi with anger written over his face. Kakashi reactions were swift. He grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist and with the greatest of ease, flipped the boy onto his empty stomach. He then proceeded to sit on his struggling prey while pressing his face against the dirt with his foot.

"Like I said, you guys are all just kids," said Kakashi coolly.

"Don't step on Sasuke-kun you jerk!" cried Sakura shrilly.

Kakashi glared at her.

"Let me ask you something, do you guys think being a ninja is easy?" he said coldly. "Tell me, why do you think we're training by breaking up into groups?"

The others looked puzzled for a moment before Sakura spoke up.

"I don't understand, Sensei."

"I see, in other words you don't understand the answer to this test," Kakashi said quietly.

"The answer?" came Naruto's confused voice.

"That's right," replied Kakashi with a nod. "It determines whether you pass or fail, so do any of you know what it is?"

"We've been asking you what it was since the beginning, Sensei," piped up Sakura.

"Geez, are your heads full of air!? Don't you understand why you're in a group?" grumbled Kakashi.

"What about the group?" asked Naruto with a touch of irritation.

"Teamwork you numbskull," replied Kakashi with a glare.

Everyone stared at Kakashi quizzically.

"You want us to work together?" asked Sakura.

"Exactly, but it's to late for that now. Had you all came at me at once, maybe you could've gotten a bell," said Kakashi darkly. "Too bad."

"Hang on, why do we need team work when there are only two bells? Even if we succeeded someone would have to bite the bullet resulting in a group conflict," realized Sakura.

"Indeed. This test was designed to try to pit you against one another," confirmed Kakashi. "The real purpose behind it was to see who would prioritized teamwork over self interest, yet you were all pathetic. For example Sakura, you cared more about Sasuke than Naruto and even though Naruto was right in front of you and you didn't know Sasuke's whereabouts."

Sakura's shoulders drooped sadly.

"Naruto, all you did was act on your own despise the vast difference between us."

Naruto grimaced and bowed his head.

"And you Sasuke, you assumed that these two were going to burden you and did everything on your own."

Sasuke stared at the dirt with sudden interest.

"Missions done in groups demand teamwork in order to obtain success. Sure individual qualities are important, but teamwork is the key. Understand that an individual who disrupts teamwork could result in the death of a comrade. For instance…"

Kakashi withdrew a Kunai from his pouch.

"Sakura! Kill Naruto or else Sasuke will die!" demanded Kakashi while pressing the knife to Sasuke's throat.

Everyone gasped in shock while Sasuke tried his best to keep the blade from touching his skin.

"It could happen just like that," said Kakashi in a calmer tone while relieving Sasuke's throat of the sharp tool.

Sakura and Naruto sighed in relief while Sasuke slumped in defeat.

"As you saw, allowing someone to be taken hostage will result in a difficult decision that could endanger lives. With each mission, your life and the life of another will be put on the line," concluded Kakashi before getting off of Sasuke's back.

The elder ninja then walked to the rock that Naruto had found the food perched upon earlier.

"Take a look at this," Kakashi ordered. "The names carved into this stone are those of the now deceased heroes of Konoha."

"Hey that's pretty cool! I've decided that I'll have my name carved into that rock!" said Naruto with a grin. "A hero! No way am I going to die a useless death!" he bragged loudly.

"That's fine, be these guys weren't normal heroes," said Kakashi quietly.

"Yeah, well what kind were they?" Naruto asked cheerfully.

Kakashi remained silent.

"Come on, you can tell me please!" Naruto begged like a puppy who was being denied a bone.

"These guys are heroes who were killed in action," he said finally.

Naruto and the others bowed their heads respectfully.

After a moment Kakashi spoke again in a soft tone.

"This is a cenotaph. The names of my friends are carved here as well."

Abruptly the elder ninja turned around.

"I'll give you guys one last chance. You may eat but the battle for the bell will become much harsher afterwards. Eat only if you're up for the challenge," announced Kakashi. "However, you are forbidden to let Naruto eat."

The blond groaned sadly.

"This is punishment for trying to break the rules and eat early. If I find anyone trying to feed him, that person will automatically fail," he concluded with a glare. "I'm the rule here, got it."

This was not a question. Slowly the three rookies nodded…

* * *

"If you'll excuse me, Hokage-sama," said Iruka with a troubled frown.

Hearing the story of Obito's history with Kakashi and comparing it with Naruto's behavior towards his teammates had given the teacher a lot to think about. Chief of his thoughts were trying to sort through this new information about Kakashi's old habits.

"Wait, Iruka," called Sarutobi.

"Yes?" asked Iruka after pausing in mid-stride.

"No matter what the results may be, I ask that you do not hate Kakashi," Sarutobi replied firmly.

For a few moments the two stared at each other in silence.

"Yes sir," Iruka finally said with a bow before exiting the café…

* * *

Naruto's stomach roared in fury. The hapless blond had been watching his teammates eat for the last ten minutes.

"I'm okay, I don't need food!" he chanted to himself over and over again before his stomach literally called him a liar.

Sasuke looked up from his half eaten tray before holding it out to Naruto.

"Here, eat it," Sasuke instructed.

Naruto gaped at his rival in shock.

"But Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei said not to!" Sakura said while glancing around for the older ninja.

"Don't worry, I don't sense him nearby. Besides if we three are going to get the bell together, it'll be less problematic if Naruto isn't hungry at that time," replied Sasuke with a frown.

"You're right Sasuke-kun, here Naruto eat mine instead," instructed Sakura while holding her nearly full tray out for Naruto.

"Sakura-chan…thank you," said Naruto gratefully with eyes filled with happy tears.

Sakura smiled at the puppy dog eyes.

"_He's cute when he does that,_" thought Sakura to herself. "No need to thank me just eat quickly."

"Yeah, about that…" Naruto waved his still imprisoned hands around before grinning.

One of Sakura's eyebrows twitched.

"Hurry!" urged Sasuke while looking around. "He might be coming back by now."

"Alright, alright! I'm only going to do this once got it!?" growled Sakura.

"Yep, I understand!" replied Naruto with a huge grin on his face.

He opened his mouth as Sakura fed him some rice with her chopsticks. The moment Naruto swallowed it and opened up for a second helping, a huge explosion of smoke appeared in front of them. Kakashi dashed out of the cloud looking livid.

"I warned you!" he bellowed. "Now prepare to feel my wrath!"

The trio braced themselves as Kakashi flashed through a bunch of hand seals. The peaceful sky grew darker and wicked looking storm clouds gathered with each seal the mad ninja performed.

"Last word time," said Kakashi while glaring at the terrified ninjas.

"Wait, you said that we're a team! That's why these two…" pleaded Naruto.

"Naruto's right, we're a three man team!" added Sasuke with a glare.

"Yeah, we three are one!" chimed in Sakura on trembling knees.

"You three are one eh?" growled Kakashi while approaching the rookies. "In that case, you pass!" he cried with a masked smile.

The trio stared a Kakashi with bewilderment etched on their faces.

"You pass," he repeated.

"Pass? Why?" asked Sakura nervously.

The sky begun to clear before Kakashi spoke.

"You three are the first. People I tested before were blockheads who only listened to what I said. In this world of ninjas, those who broke the rules were considered scum. But you know, those who don't take care of their friends are even worst scum in my eyes," he said while gazing at the now clear sky.

The rookies all smiled and Naruto even starting crying in happiness.

"The training ends here, and everyone passes. Team seven will start doing missions starting tomorrow!" he announced with a thumbs up.

Everyone cheered except for Sasuke who merely nodded.

"I did it Elaine, Domino, Genmaru! I'm a ninja!" yelled Naruto happily as he thought of his good friends.

"Pack it up guys, we're going home," said Kakashi before he, Sakura and Sasuke walked off.

"Um, guys! A little help here?" requested Naruto to his teammates retreating backs.

Nobody turned around.

"Hey, this isn't funny! SOMEONE UNTIE ME!!"

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo everybody! It's finally here, after this particular chapter some major changes are going to start occurring in the original story line. Soon it'll be time to reveal exactly why the Dragon clan is so elite. I can't wait to get started! Also we're starting to get more reviews, keep it up guys!

Okay, time to start answering some reviews.

Edengrave: Great! I'm glad that the way I introduced my OCs is playing out well. I understand your point about being too familiar with the scene, but it was critical that I start it off that way just in case someone who wasn't familiar with Naruto was reading. I'm happy that you think I'm a decent writer but I'm going to try my best to get even better. The good news however is that some big changes are going to occur after this chapter. Hopefully it'll make it the story even more enjoyable for you. :)

Benney: Alright! I'm glad you like the way the OCs are fitting into the puzzle. Those three are like different sides of my personality. Domino has my sense of humor, Elaine carries my sincerity, and Genmaru is just me after listening to R&B. :P

Lol, good one about Gai's team, A.K.A team weird. As for your question about their team number. During the Chuunin exam, I was under the impression that Gai's team had already graduated from the academy a year before everyone else did. Some clues that hinted at this, was that one of the Jounins mentioned that Neji was the rookie of the year before Sasuke came along. Also if they had graduated around the time Naruto and the others did, Lee most likely wouldn't be so strong or know how to do the Lotus technique. So I don't think they had a team number, or if they did nobody ever said what it was.

Ah, the Elaine and Naruto pairing, I'm seriously considering it but I'm not really sure if I should. My original intentions for those two was to just have Elaine give Naruto some added motivation but with the way it's turning out I just might do a pairing instead. I may have a voters poll and ask you guys who you would want to see Naruto paired with a little later on. As for Elaine's hair style, picture it looking similar to Videl's hair cut from DBZ during the tournament. Hope that cleared up any confusions. :)

Yet another fun chapter written. This time you got to see a tiny sample of the kind of fight scenes I have in store for you. Look forward to an explosive showdown in a few more chapters, I can't wait to post my master piece! (Rubs hands together like a mad scientist while crackling to myself)

Now on to the pesky disclaimer!

I said it before, I'll say it again I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything other than that belongs to Bandai and it's creator Mr. Kishimoto.

Lastly it's time to try out the rank system I was talking about in chapter one. Here is where everyone currently stands in overall skill.

Naruto - D Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 20/100 when fighting Kakashi.

Sakura - E Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100

Sasuke - D Rank with a Focus Gauge of 40/100 when fighting Kakashi.

Kakashi - B Rank with a Focus Gauge of 10/100 tormenting his students

A quick explanation of the Focus Gauge. The Focus Gauge is a Limit Break kind of feature that uses a trap, technique or desperation move that can and often will turn the tide on an opponent. For every ten points a Focus Gauges has, indicates the number of times an opponent will be caught off guard or in some cases soundly defeated by unexpected actions. An example being Sasuke using that trap to pin Kakashi down for a near successful capture of a bell.

Okay, see you guys in the next chapter and don't forget to review. Ta ta now!


	5. The Assassins of the Mist! part 1

**Sword Masters and Dragons!**

**The Assassins of the Mist!**

The sky shone brightly with pure sunshine one afternoon. It had been over three weeks since Naruto and company had passed Kakashi's test. During that time the group have begun to do all kinds of daily missions and today was no exception. Naruto was dashing quickly through Konoha's forest on a search and rescue assignment.

"This is Sasuke, I've secured position B," came the black haired boy's voice from a small radio device near his collar.

"Okay, I've just reached position A," added Sakura's voice.

Thirty seconds later, Naruto finally came to a stop.

"Alright, I got position C covered," he said.

"You're slow Naruto, try not to screw up," ordered Sasuke.

"Good work Squad Seven, but don't lose sight of the target. Move out!" came Kakashi's voice before Naruto could berate Sasuke.

"Right!" they all cried.

Naruto resumed dashing into the dense forest that was one of the Shodai Hokage's greatest creations. A minute later Sakura spoke again.

"I see the target, it's on the move!"

"After it!" came Sasuke's voice.

Naruto sped up and continued dashing and before long he caught sight of Sakura's rose colored outfit. After that, Sasuke suddenly appeared besides him from out of some nearby foliage. With a nod in his direction the trio continued the chase. After a while, Sakura came to a stop allowing the others to catch up.

"It's over there," she whispered to her comrades while pointing towards some scrubs.

Naruto looked to see a bit of red cloth sticking out of the greenery.

"What's the distance to the target?" asked Kakashi from their radio devices.

"Looks to be about five meters," relayed Naruto into his radio.

"Okay on my signal," instructed Sasuke while raising a arm into the air.

For a few tense moments all was quite, then Sasuke's arm dropped. Immediately the trio charged. Once in range, Naruto leaped into a flying tackle. He felt his arms wrap around something warm, soft and…

"_Furry?_" he thought before glancing at his prey.

A brown tabby cat glared at Naruto before slipping from his grasp to pounce on his head. The cat immediately begun to smack Naruto's face repeatedly with it's paws.

"Looks like we got him. Tora has been successfully captured, Sensei," reported Sasuke into his radio while Sakura giggled at the beating the miniature tiger was giving Naruto.

"Great! Rescue mission complete. Report back to Hokage-sama's place on the double," ordered Kakashi before cutting the transmission.

Sakura picked up the cat and cradled it in her arms. The kitty purred contently while Naruto rubbed his sore face.

"Stupid cat…" he grumbled.

Pain or no, the group headed towards the Hokage's manor as requested…

* * *

The moment the group reached the Hokage's place, a large woman with black hair tied into a Chinese bun seized her lost cat from Sakura.

"Oh, my darling little Tora-chan! Mama has missed you so!" she wailed while smothering the trashing cat.

Naruto rubbed his still sore face while grinning in satisfaction.

"Stupid cat is getting just what it deserves!" rubbed in the blond to add insult to the poor cat's plight.

"Maybe, but it's no wonder he ran away. The poor thing can barely breath," commented Sakura with a worried frown.

Sasuke shrugged indifferently.

"I don't really care, let's just report to the Third so we can get our money," he said.

Drawing nods from the others, Sasuke led his group into Sarutobi's assignment center where Kakashi was already waiting…

* * *

The moment they set foot into the spacious room, Sarutobi tossed each of them a small bag with several coins inside. He then withdrew a list of available jobs from a nearby stack that Iruka was sorting through.

"I heard you guys in the hall, great work," commended Sarutobi. "Now then, your next assignment will be to either baby sit for the Feudal Lord's son or help the farmers harvest this years potato reserve."

"NO!" screamed Naruto suddenly.

Everyone stared at him.

"If it's alright with you I would much rather do a _more_ exciting mission," hinted Naruto while empathizing the more in his sentence.

"_He does have a point there but…_" thought Sarutobi with a sigh.

"Idiot! Did you forget that you're still just a novice!?" roared Iruka with Sarutobi's exact thoughts. "Everyone here needs to start with easy missions to gain experience first!"

"I know that! But I want to do a better mission!" Naruto shot back.

Suddenly there was a sharp pressure on his head and Naruto's face met the ground. Everyone turned to find Kakashi standing behind him while dusting his hands together.

"Cut it out, kid," he ordered.

Clearing his throat beforehand, Sarutobi spoke up.

"Naruto, it looks like I need to explain what missions are to you."

Naruto grained the Third his attention while still rubbing his aching head.

"As you know, a lot of clients come to the village every day. They request things ranging from baby sitting to assassinations. Depending on the nature of the job asked of us, they will be classified as either A,B,C or D rank missions. Obviously A ranked missions are the most difficult, while D ranked missions are the easiest. These jobs are distributed based on the ranks of those accepting them. Jounins are normally assigned A ranked missions. Chunnins are assigned both B and C ranked missions. And Genins, depending on your experience level, can be assigned both C and D ranked missions. Upon completion, the assignment center will collect a fee which is partially shared with those involved in the missions," Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe before continuing. "Since you have all just became Genins recently, D ranked missions are obviously the best jobs for your current abilities."

"I had Tankatsu ramen yesterday so I'm think of having Miso ramen today," Naruto informed his teammates with his back turned.

The kid plainly wasn't listening at all.

"HEY!" bellowed Sarutobi angrily.

"I apologize about this Hokage-sama, he's still a bit of a blockhead," vouched Kakashi with a sheepish masked smile.

"I am not!" shouted Naruto before turning to Sarutobi. "Anyway, you always lecture me like that pops. But I not the kid that used to pull pranks anymore!" he concluded while crossing his arms and stubbornly pouting.

The room grew quite for a moment, then both Iruka and Sarutobi begun to chuckle.

"_Stubborn kid,_" he mused. "Alright, if you insist. I'll assign you guys a C ranked mission."

Everyone looked up in momentary surprise before grinning in pleasure.

"Yay, what kind of mission is it?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"You'll be escorting a client to Water Country," replied Sarutobi.

"Ooo, cool! Is it a princess or a feudal lord?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Now now, don't get so hasty. I'll introduce him now. Iruka, if you please," requested Sarutobi with a grin.

"Yes sir," Iruka replied while rising to fetch the client…

* * *

Not even a minute passed since Iruka left, when the office door opened again. Naruto was overjoyed to see Genmaru and the others waltz into the room.

"Team Nine reporting back from a successful C ranked mission, Hokage-sama," Genmaru said just before he and the others noticed Naruto standing behind them.

"Hey, Naruto!" greeted Elaine and Domino cheerily.

"Hey guys!" replied Naruto with a huge grin.

"Looks like you passed the exam too," observed Domino with a pleased smile.

"Yeah! Nothing to it!" bragged Naruto while flashing the victory sign.

"That's funny, I seem to recall you running around like an idiot and falling for obvious traps. Not to mention being tied to a post," deadpanned Sasuke from behind him.

"Can it, Sasuke!" Naruto shot back with a growl.

"Darn, looks like I have to do your chores after all," groaned Domino with a defeated look towards Genmaru who looked really pleased about something.

"Huh? Why's that?" asked Naruto.

"She and Genmaru had a bet on whether you would get tied to the post or not," explained Elaine with a light chuckle. "Sadly it looks like Domino lost."

Naruto's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Well we can't all be winners right?" he asked tenuously.

"I'll never forgive you!!" Domino wailed while glaring at him causing the blond to sweat drop.

Everyone laughed.

"Anyway, I'm really happy to see you here, Naruto," gushed Elaine.

"Of course, after all I promised didn't I?" replied Naruto while happily rubbing the back of his head.

"Whoo, look at the love birds!" said Kakashi out of nowhere causing both Naruto and Elaine to flush.

"Sensei!" exclaimed Naruto with warm cheeks.

"Now now, don't try to sneak out of it or else your girlfriend's feelings will be hurt," Kakashi teased.

"Stupid Kakashi…" Naruto muttered under his breath. "_But she is pretty cu…wait what am I thinking!_" Naruto shook his head as if to dislodge the thought.

"So guys, where is your Jounin teacher?" asked Sakura with a smile.

"Ah, he couldn't make it today. He said something about taking care of a forgotten request," replied Domino.

"Oh really?" asked Naruto who's cheeks had regained their normal color.

"That's right, but before he left he ordered us to take on another C ranked mission," added Genmaru.

"Wow, are you sure you can handle that alone?" asked Sakura in amazement.

"We'll manage, especially if they're as easy as the last nine C ranked missions we did," replied Domino with a toothy grin.

Naruto and his teammate's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"Did you just say the last nine?" asked Sakura in awe.

"Yeah, we even took on a B ranked mission just the other day!" bragged Domino while sticking out her tongue in a teasing manner.

The room grew very quite, save for the nervous chuckles from Domino and Elaine while everyone stared at them.

"_No way!_" thought Sakura and Naruto in unison.

Sasuke merely glared at the floor while clenching his trembling fists.

"It wasn't anything major, just a few rogue ninjas causing trouble," said Genmaru with a shrug before facing the Third. "Team Nine requesting a C ranked mission and payment, Hokage-sama."

Wordlessly, the Third handed Genmaru a large bag of money as well as a slip of paper.

"This is a classified mission, burn it as soon as you read it," instructed Sarutobi firmly.

Genmaru nodded and turned back to the group. Immediately Domino and Elaine huddled on either side of him to read the note. Once they understood their orders, Genmaru held the paper flat in his palm and took on a frown of concentration. The slip then burst into flames. Within seconds only ash remained which Genmaru crushed into powder before looking up with a smile.

"The hell!? How did you do that?" asked Naruto in wide eyed amazement.

"Hm, that wasn't much. I just so happen to be able to super heat my chakra around my hands," Genmaru replied thoughtfully. "Sorry but I never quite understood how it worked, it just comes naturally to me," he concluded with a shrug.

"_I wonder…_" thought Kakashi with growing interest. "Hey Genmaru, might I have a private word with you?" said Kakashi while gesturing towards the door.

Genmaru nodded with a friendly smile and the two ninjas left the room together. The door closed with a soft snap.

"_That guy..._" thought Sasuke darkly after Genmaru left. "_Who is he?_"

"Geez, why does Genmaru always have to show off like that!" Domino said suddenly with her cheeks puffed out.

"You're his girlfriend, why don't you ask him," replied Elaine with a teasing smile.

Domino glared at her before slyly smiling with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Speaking of girlfriend…" she started before Elaine clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Alright, alright change of topic!" cried Elaine with reddening cheeks.

Sakura chuckled at Elaine's distress before lending a hand.

"So what kind of missions have you guys done?" she asked.

Elaine gave Sakura a look of eternal gratitude before speaking.

"We've mostly been doing scouting missions and collecting medical supplies for the hospital."

"Right, the only action we've gotten was from that B ranked mission," added Domino once Elaine released her mouth.

"Hold on, I thought old man Hokage said that Genins couldn't do B ranked missions," remembered Naruto with an annoyed glance at Sarutobi who was twiddling his thumbs while staring at the ceiling.

"Ordinarily yes, but Sensei insisted that we attempt one," said Elaine.

"I heard he had to beg the Third to let us do the job though," added Domino with a chuckle.

At that moment the door opened. Kakashi, Genmaru and Iruka then entered. Immediately Iruka ran over to the Third and whispered something in his ear. Sarutobi nodded and turned his attention to Naruto and the others.

"Okay, our client is now ready to meet you," announced Sarutobi while straightening up. "You may enter!" he called towards the door.

It quickly opened to reveal an elderly man standing in the doorway.

"What? They're all just a bunch of kids!" he grumbled while entering the room.

The man had a head full of spiky gray hair and black eyes that peaked through a pair of wire rimed glasses. The man was hunched over slightly under the weight of a large green backpack. He was wearing a pair of eggshell colored pants with a lime green Gi. The man's cheeks were slightly red and his grizzly grey beard was soaked with what smelled like alcohol. The reason for this was made crystal clear when he took a swig from a large bottle of sprits.

With a loud ah of satisfaction, the man gave everyone a quick once over before speaking.

"Hey, is the little guy with the idiotic face really a ninja?" the man asked.

Naruto begun to laugh.

"Who's the little guy with the idiotic face?" Naruto asked between snickers.

Genmaru and Sasuke stepped next to Naruto so he could see for himself. Genmaru was easily three inches taller than Naruto while Sasuke stood two inches taller. Realization struck Naruto who immediately saw red. He then tried to rush the old man but Kakashi, who anticipated this, grabbed onto the back of his jacket.

"I'm going to kill you, old man!" Naruto roared despise being held fast.

The others sweat dropped.

"Don't kill the man you're suppose to escort, baka," said Kakashi with a sigh.

"Old man! Hmp!" the elderly man grumbled before taking another swig of his sprits. "I'll have you know that I'm a world famous bridge building expert. The name is Tazuna, brat! And despise my misgivings, I'll need you guys to protect my life while I complete the bridge I'm building back in my country."

"He's right, Naruto," added Sarutobi. "Team Seven, your mission is to escort and protect Tazuna while he completes the bridge connecting Fire Country to Water Country. Upon your success, trading routes and missions will spawn more easily between us. Best of luck!" he concluded before dismissing everyone with a wave of his hand.

Once everyone left the room, Domino spoke up with excitement evident in her voice.

"Say I've got a great idea, since you guys are going to Water Country why don't Genmaru, Elaine and myself accompany you?"

Everyone perked up at that idea then Sakura spoke up.

"But don't you guys have a mission to do already?" she asked.

"Yes, but ironically our mission is also in Water Country," replied Genmaru with a grin that was mirrored by Domino and Elaine.

"Yay! We'll be happy to travel with you, right Kakashi-sensei?" asked the blond ninja excitedly.

Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment before nodding.

"Sure, I don't see a problem with it," agreed Kakashi with a masked smile.

Everyone cheered, with the exception of Sasuke, who simply smirked, and Tazuna who just drank some more sprits.

"Alright, everyone get packed and assemble at the front gate in thirty minutes," ordered Kakashi.

With that said, the group split up to prepare for the trip…

* * *

Just as they had been ordered everyone arrived at the front gate carrying backpacks filled with provisions. With excited smiles, the group exited the village. They had gone no further than five steps, with Naruto in the lead, when abruptly the blond ninja pumped his fists into the air.

"Alright! Let's go!" he shouted vigorously.

"Naruto, what in the world are you getting all excited for?" asked Sakura with a frown.

"Right, we haven't done anything yet," chimed in Domino with an amused smile.

"I know that, it's just that I've never gone outside the village before!" he replied while glancing every which way with mounting excitement.

Tazuna, seemed to quickly tire of Naruto's excessive energy and spoke gruffly.

"Hey, will a kid like him really be capable of this mission?" he complained to Kakashi.

Naruto immediately glared at the mean old man.

"Don't worry, I'll be accompanying you just in case," replied Kakashi with a laugh.

"Hey you geezer, listen up!" bellowed Naruto abruptly in a angry tone. "Don't underestimate me! I, Uzumaki Naruto, am an elite ninja who will one day inherit the title of Hokage! Remember the name, cause the next time we meet you'll have to acknowledge me!"

The others all smiled, but none as broadly or proudly as Elaine.

"_That's it, believe in yourself Naruto!_" thought the blue haired girl happily.

Tazuna took another drink of his sprits before speaking.

"Hokage, was it? Isn't that the title of the strongest ninja in Konoha?" asked the old man.

Everyone nodded.

"I see, well in that case I don't think you can become one and even if you did, I'll never acknowledge a brat like you," Tazuna grumbled.

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you!" Naruto roared just before Kakashi grabbed his collar again. "No! Let me hit him just once, Sensei!" he cried while struggling against Kakashi's grip.

"Knock it off, stupid," ordered Kakashi erecting a sweat drop from everyone.

Once Naruto calmed down a few minutes later and promised not to commit homicide on the grouchy old coot, the group resumed the journey…

* * *

The two teams had been traveling for nearly an hour. During that time Domino and Elaine where telling Sakura about some of the countries they had seen during their missions. Naruto, Kakashi and Genmaru were exchanging cooking recipes and tips. While Sasuke and Tazuna each remained absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Hey, Tazuna-san…" called Sakura drawing the attention of everyone in the group.

"What is it?" replied Tazuna gruffly.

"You're from the Village of Wave, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" replied the old man.

"Well, Domino and Elaine were telling me how they've never been there before. So I was wondering if there are other ninja there?" explained Sakura.

"Yeah, I'm kind of curious about that myself," chimed in Domino with a thoughtful look.

"No, there aren't any ninjas living in Wave, but Water Country does indeed have a hidden ninja village somewhere there," supplied Kakashi before the old man could speak.

"Oh wow, could you tell us a bit about the different villages, Sensei?" asked Sakura with growing interest.

"Okay. As you know, there are numerous countries in this land. Five in particular are well known for their ninja villages. These countries are Hi, Rai, Kaze, Tsuchi, and Mizu, also known as Fire, Lightning, Wind, Earth and Water. Hi no Kuni's hidden village is Leaf, Mizu no Kuni's village is Mist, Rai no Kuni's village is Cloud, Kaze no Kuni's village is Sand, and Tsuchi no Kuni's village is Rock. Each village is lead by one who carries the title of Shadow. They are Hokage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage and Mizukage also referred to as the five Kages. These five are the greatest ninjas in the world out of thousands," explained Kakashi.

"Neat, Hokage-sama must be a great man!" commented Sakura in an deceptively impressed tone. "_Sounds fishy, is that old geezer really all that?_" she thought with a twitching eyebrow.

They others also wore identical doubtful expressions.

"Hey, you guys just doubted Hokage-sama didn't you?" asked Kakashi with a glare.

"Of course not!" they all replied at the same time while nervously chuckling.

"I see. Well anyway, there shouldn't be any ninja battles in a C ranked mission," announced Kakashi with a shrug.

"Yeah, tell us about it!" said Domino sarcastically. "We've been doing C ranked missions like crazy but the most action we ever get is our usual arguments over the last slice of Genmaru's cakes," she concluded with a pout.

"So true," agreed Elaine with a laugh. "Don't take your eyes off anything sweet for a minute or else Domino will snatch it up in a heartbeat."

"Do not! I just wanted to keep them safe from bugs and stuff!" joked Domino.

"Sure honey, there's no safer place than your stomach," commented Genmaru while rolling his eyes before dodging a playful punch from Domino.

Everyone laughed except for Tazuna, whose troubled frown grew more pronounced with each passing step…

* * *

The afternoon sun was slowly beginning to descend upon the travelers. The hooting of owls could be heard signaling the coming of nightfall.

"How much further is it to the ferry, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Hm? Not too much further, just another half a day's journey," replied Kakashi.

"We might want to set up camp in a few more hours," suggested Genmaru with a yawn.

The others nodded in agreement as they continued trekking. Before long they passed a small puddle which Genmaru stared at quizzically before glancing at Kakashi who nodded in his direction. The group had gone no further than fifteen paces pass the tiny puddle when suddenly, they heard a chain rattling. Everyone turned around to see two wraith like figures rushing towards them.

From what Naruto could see, the two attackers were clearly male. Each one was wearing brown and green camouflage pants and black T-shirts. The duo's faces were hidden behind metal face guards with a re-breather device covering their mouths. They both had long and wild black hair and were wearing gray cloaks. Their most dangerous looking features were metal claws that were linked together with a wicked looking chain. The chain itself was covered with sharp spikes.

Everyone was too surprised by the sight to react in time. This resulted in Kakashi being unexpectedly bound by the duo's razor sharp chain.

"First one!" cried the wraith like men before they sliced and diced Kakashi to ribbons with their clawed hands.

The group stared in horror at the gory scene then the clawed men simply vanished into thin air. Everyone went on guard after that and begun warily glance about for the creepy men. Suddenly Naruto sensed a presence behind him.

"Second one," came the voices of the clawed men.

Naruto turned around in wide eyed horror to find the wraiths rearing back their clawed arms for the killing blow.

"Move, Naruto!" screamed Elaine but the blond boy's legs were frozen in terror.

Death was fast approaching when without warning, Sasuke leaped into the air. In a single move the black haired boy hurled both a shuriken and a kunai which pinned the creepy men's chain to a nearby tree. Their clawed arms came to halt, momentarily confusing the attackers. Then Sasuke landed on one of the creep's shoulders. Sasuke expertly performed a forward somersault that ended with him landing two solid kicks into a wraith's face. Afterwards, Sasuke rolled forward on the ground and quickly rose into a battle pose. The two wraiths looked livid with fury and they somehow detached their pinned chain from their united claws allowing them to act independently. Immediately they rushed the group.

One wraith had targeted Naruto, since he was the closest. He took a swipe at him with his claw. The blond unexpectedly found himself being knocked out of the way but not before the creep scored a shallow cut on his hand. Naruto looked up to see Genmaru standing in front of him with a hand grasping the handle of his sword.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" asked Genmaru quietly while glaring at the wraith.

The moment Naruto nodded, the misty eyed boy vanished into thin air. Genmaru then reappeared a split second later in front of the surprised wraith at face to face range. The creep only blinked once before a sharp pain shot through his clawed arm. He looked down to see the claw as well as his hand cut completely off! The action had taken all but two seconds, but never once did the wraith see Genmaru draw his sword! He howled in pain while turning to flee only to find Genmaru already standing in front of him. That was the last sight the man's wide eyes saw, then the wraith knew no more.

The other one was heading towards Tazuna. Sakura protectively stood in front of the old man with a kunai draw while Elaine and Domino rushed the attacker. Domino reached him first and lashed out with a power punch towards the creep's clawed hand. Just before the punch landed, Domino's fist begun to glow with gold colored chakra. Amazingly the very earth rose up and engulfed the lavender eyed girl's fist. The dirt seemed to harden and morph a bit before her hand was suddenly encaged in solid stone. The creep stared in shock while his claw was crushed by Domino's attack. Elaine then appeared and planted a solid lateral kick into the man's chest which knocked him back a few feet. The wraith staggered to a halt before charging again, despise his useless claw. He had taken no more than two steps before he was caught in a chokehold by…

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Sakura happily.

"Hey guys, sorry about the delay," greeted Kakashi coolly…

* * *

Once the group had gathered and tied up the two assassins, Kakashi sent one of his nin-dogs back to Konoha to arrange for someone to come and arrest the Demon Brothers. Afterwards, everyone begun chattering at once.

"WAIT A MINUTE!!" screamed Kakashi.

The chattering immediately came to a stop.

"That's better. Now is everyone alright?" asked the gray haired ninja.

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

"Good," Kakashi said before turning towards Naruto with a frown. "I have to apologizes to you Naruto, for letting you get hurt. I didn't think that you wouldn't be able to move."

"_I couldn't do anything, but everyone else…_" Naruto clenched his fist while staring at the ground.

"Anyway good job guys. That was a brilliant display of Taijutsu skills and judgment," continued Kakashi.

"Sensei, how are you alive? We all saw you get sliced into pieces," asked Sakura.

"Oh, that. That was just a replication, I had been hiding in the trees the whole time," explained Kakashi with a masked smile.

"I see…" said Sakura while turning towards Domino. "If you don't mind my asking, what was that attack you did during the battle?" she asked curiously.

Domino chuckled a bit while placing a hand behind her head before speaking.

"Um, it's not much different from what Genmaru does. Basically, I can create armor by combining my Chakra with the earth. The difference is that I'm not limited to just my hands," she explained with a cheery smile.

"That's amazing!" gushed Sakura. "You pretty much crushed that guy's hand!"

"I did didn't I?" joked Domino before cracking up into laughter.

Everyone joined in, then Sasuke turned abruptly towards Naruto who was quietly staring at the ground.

"Hey, are you alright, scaredy cat? You're shaking," taunted Sasuke with a smirk.

Naruto glared hatefully at his rival.

"SASUKE!" he roared.

Naruto was just about to rush him when Kakashi suddenly spoke up.

"Naruto!" he cried catching the hotheaded boy's attention. "There's poison in these guy's claws. Try not to move too much or it'll spread. We need to remove it right away or else you might die," he concluded gravely.

Naruto glanced fearfully at his scratched hand.

"By the way Tazuna-san, I need to have a word with you," said Kakashi darkly.

"What is it?" asked the elderly man fearfully.

"These guys who attacked us are Chuunin class ninjas from the Hidden Village of the Mist. They have been following us for some time now, as I'm sure Genmaru has also noticed," said Kakashi.

Genmaru nodded before speaking.

"They have been stalking us since we left the village."

"Alright, so if you knew these guys were after us why didn't you stop them sooner?" asked Tazuna.

"Frankly, I could've killed these guys in the blink of an eye if I had been up to it. However, it was crucial that I find out who they were after," explained Kakashi while glancing at Tazuna out the corner of his eye.

"What are you saying? You don't think I have anything to do with…" begun the elderly man.

"Come now, the target was either you or someone from our group. The latter seems highly unlikely, so if there is anything you haven't told us, now would be the time to come clean. Our mission was only to protect and support you from gangs and robbers until the bridge was completed. However, if ninjas are involved, this would be a highly expensive B ranked mission. Speak now, or we'll call this mission off," threatened Kakashi.

"Sensei is right Tazuna-san, this mission is out of our league. Besides we need to get Naruto to a hospital," said Sakura quietly.

"It's a burden, but I guess it can't be helped. Let's go back to the village," ordered Kakashi with a frown.

Naruto glared angrily at Kakashi before withdrawing a Kunai from his pouch. To the surprise of everyone he stabbed his poisoned hand with the tool. Instantly the spot he stabbed erupted into a small spray of blood.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!" cried Sakura, Domino and Elaine in unison.

"I trained so hard and for what? To be bested by some poison!" spat Naruto venomously. "I should be stronger than this, I have to be so I can keep my promise!"

Naruto glanced sadly at Elaine before hardening his gaze again.

"So I won't quit and I'll never seek help from others, I swear it on the pain in my left hand!" declared Naruto with a sudden grin. "This mission is still on!"

"_You're amazing, Naruto!_" thought Elaine with admiration evident in her twinkling eyes.

"_Was he always this cool?_" thought Sakura in awe, mirroring everyone else's thoughts.

"Naruto, it's great that you took out the poison so spiritedly but you're going to bleed to death if you lose any more blood," said Kakashi with a frown.

The blond paled at the thought.

"It's not good if you don't stop it right away, seriously," added Kakashi with a masked smile.

"OH MY GOD!!" wailed Naruto as he begun to run around in panic. "I CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS!!"

"Relax, show me your hand," ordered Kakashi.

"Please help me!" Naruto moaned pitifully.

"Sheesh Naruto, you have a self abusing personality. That's called masochism you know," grumbled Sakura with a frown.

Everyone sweat dropped except for Naruto, who was too horror stricken to speak, and Elaine who was currently rummaging through her backpack.

Kakashi's eyes suddenly grew wide as he observed Naruto's hand.

"_His wound is already starting to heal,_" observed Kakashi in surprise at the sight of the faint reddish light surrounding the claw marks. "_It must be the Nine-tailed Fox's power._"

"Am I okay? You have a serious look on your face," said Naruto in horror before his legs buckled from fear.

Kakashi said nothing at first while Elaine approached them with a roll of bandage wrappings. Elaine too gasped in surprise at the sight of Naruto's nearly healed hand.

"Oh no, not you too! Am I dying guys!?" moaned Naruto with a purple hue in his face.

Kakashi and Elaine exchanged a look of silent understanding before she kneeled next to the frightened blond with a cheery smile. She then took Naruto's hand in her own and begun to apply the bandages to it.

"You should be okay," reassured Elaine as best as she could while she carefully wrapped Naruto's hand.

Naruto seemed to relax a bit under Elaine's care while he stared into her peaceful eyes. Naruto wasn't sure if it was her touch or just her presence, but a part of him wished that time would stay still. Naturally he was somewhat disappointed once Elaine finished applying the wrappings, but seeing her warm smile cheered him up again immediately.

"There you go, Naruto," said Elaine with a satisfied smile.

"Thank you," said Naruto meekly.

The blond then stood up again.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Naruto standing up without any difficulties.

"Looks like you got the poison out in time," said Genmaru.

"Yeah, now you won't shrivel up like a raisin," joked Domino with a snicker.

Everyone groaned at the poor joke except for Tazuna who was being probed by Kakashi's untrusting gaze…

* * *

The hooting of nocturnal owls had become much more frequent as the west bound sun faded from sight. The last of the sun's rays were just barely visible over the treetops. Realizing that the going would become quite difficult in the hours of the night, the group had finally stopped to set up camp. During this time Naruto, Genmaru, Tazuna and Kakashi were putting the tents together while Sakura, Domino and Elaine went to bathe in a nearby stream. Sasuke went into the woods to look for sticks and dry branches to use for firewood.

"Okay guys, it might be a bit faster if we split up the work," said Kakashi. "Tazuna and I will work on the girl's tent while you two put our tent together."

"Yes sir!" said Naruto and Genmaru in unison.

With that said, the quartet went to the opposite sides of the clearing to begin work. Genmaru then withdrew a large tent kit from his backpack which he unceremoniously dumped in-between them.

"Naruto, I think we can finish even sooner if we each do half of the tent," suggested Genmaru with a smile.

"Yeah, alright," replied Naruto with a nod.

They each then grabbed some parts and plopped down to get started…

* * *

In the absence of the sun, the full moon illuminated the gently flowing stream. In addition to the moon, the first of many stars were beginning to shine as well.

"Ooo, it's a wonderful night for a bath!" gushed Domino.

"It sure is!" agreed Elaine cheerfully while kicking off her sandals.

Elaine then dipped a toe into the water.

"Great, it's still warm from the sun! We should have a full thirty minutes before the water gets chilly judging by the temperature," she announced.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's jump in!" cried Domino while pumping a fist into the air.

"Sounds good to me," said Sakura with a smile.

The trio then begun to remove and neatly fold their clothing. Domino finished before the others and let loose a shrill wolf whistle.

"Whoo hoo, take it off baby!" she cried with a laugh.

"Shut up!" cried Elaine while hurling her sandal at her lavender eyed friend.

Domino easily avoided the flying shoe and the trio broke up into laughter. Afterwards, Domino and Sakura tied their hair up on top of their heads so it wouldn't get wet. Once they were ready, all three of them waded into the stream.

"Ah, this is heavenly," said Sakura with a content sigh once she got settled.

"Tell me about it. I could stay like this all night," agreed Elaine with her eyes closed in sheer bliss.

"By all means, it'll be great to see what a human prune looks like," joked Domino.

Elaine playfully splashed some water at Domino.

"Meanie!" cried Domino with a laugh before splashing Elaine back.

The girls then engaged in a short lived water fight before settling down to soak and relax. After some time, Domino spoke again.

"So Sakura…" begun Domino with her mischievous grin in place. "How do you feel about Naruto?"

"WHAT?! What are you suggesting!?" exclaimed Sakura with a flush. "I don't like him like that at all!"

Domino's grin grew wider.

"Really? You don't like him, even a tiny bit?" she asked teasingly.

"I-I…he's just a friend! Besides, I'm only interested in Sasuke-kun!" justified Sakura defensively.

"You were stammering!" pointed out Domino while Elaine doubled over in suppressed fits of laughter. "Out with it! What were you going to say?"

"Give me a break!" protested Sakura. "Alright, I think Naruto can be cool at times but he's hardly boyfriend material!" she finally admitted.

Unable to hold it in any longer, both Elaine and Domino burst out laughing. Sakura splashed some water at them in retaliation.

"Oh you're terrible!" cried Sakura before she too started to laugh.

Once they calmed down again, Sakura spoke up with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Speaking of love interests, how did you and Genmaru fall in love, Domino?" asked Sakura.

"Ooo, I remember it perfectly!" declared Domino in a bubbly school girl fashion. "It was during the Cherry Blossom Festival two years ago. Genmaru and I were out on our fourth date."

"Yeah and Genmaru when all out on it too," chipped in Elaine with a knowing smile.

"Oh yes!" confirmed a blushing Domino while hugging herself with her eyes closed blissfully. "Genmaru said that he wanted to surprise me and had me blindfolded. Then he escorted me to a beautiful spot by a river in the forest where he had set up a romantic dinner complete with flowers and candles. There were cherry blossom petals everywhere and the stars were shining."

"Wuaah, that's so romantic!" gushed Sakura as she pictured the scene.

"It sure was!" continued Domino. "But the best part was when he held me in his arms. I think I fell in love with him then. That was the day he and I shared our first kiss," concluded Domino with a dreamy sigh.

"Don't I know it, you wouldn't stop talking about it for days!" said Elaine with a laugh.

The trio laughed.

"That's so cool! I wish Sasuke-kun would do something like that for me!" said Sakura with a blush.

"You really like Sasuke, huh?" asked Elaine.

"Yeah, but what are the odds of him ever noticing me? My figure isn't exactly super," said Sakura sadly while staring at her chest.

"I'll admit you are lacking a bit," commented Domino while cupping her own generous bosom. "Nar…I mean, Sasuke won't be too impressed with that figure."

"It's true Sasuke never really noti…" she begun. "Hey! You were going to say Naruto weren't you?" demanded Sakura with her cheeks puffed out.

"Who me? Why I would never do such a thing," replied Domino with mocked innocence.

"Yeah sure, if you weren't going to say Naruto then I'll dye my hair purple," said Elaine with a laugh.

Domino stuck her tongue out at Elaine causing her to laugh even harder. Once the friends settled down again, Sakura turned to Domino with an almost hopeful look.

"You know, you and Genmaru seem to click very well together. Do you think that maybe you could give me some advice on how to impress Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

"I hear you my pink haired friend and you've come to the right person!" declared Domino with a huge grin. "Ok, listen up. The most important thing you could do to catch the eye of any guy is to be yourself."

"Hear hear!" chimed in Elaine with an approving nod.

"This is important since it'll leave little room for doubt or confusion as your crush gets to know you," continued Domino with a pleased smile at Elaine's praise. "Next you'll want to be honest but not too forceful about your feelings, lest you scare him off. Also try to be patient while your lucky guy sorts out his feelings for you. Finally, if all else fails go eat lots of ice cream."

Elaine sweat dropped.

"Um, you were doing really well there until you mentioned the ice cream bit," said Elaine with a chuckle.

"Oh come on! Ice cream always makes me feel better when I'm depress," insisted Domino.

"Yeah but you rarely are depress," pointed out Elaine with a laugh.

Suddenly, Domino's mischievous grin appeared.

"Alright then, how do you feel about Naruto?" she asked.

"Hey, come on! That's cruel!" protested Elaine with reddening cheeks.

"So you say, but we know you like him," teased Domino in a singsong way.

"Yeah, I got to hear this!" chimed in Sakura with a equally mischievous grin.

"Sakura!!" exclaimed Elaine who's entire face was turning red from embarrassment.

"Come on, out with it! We won't stop asking until you tell us!" declared Domino with a laugh.

"No way!" cried Elaine indignantly.

"Please?" begged Sakura with a pout.

There it was, the dreaded and oh so adorable look that Naruto had mastered. Saying no had just gotten ten times harder. Elaine glared at Domino in a way that promised revenge before sighing.

"Alright fine! I-I really like Naruto," she said with crimson cheeks.

"Hah, I knew it!" cried Domino with a teasing smile.

"That's great! How long have you liked him?" asked Sakura.

"Since the day we were divided into teams," admitted Elaine.

"Awesome! When are you going to tell him?" asked Domino with twinkling eyes.

"Are you mad?! I can't tell him something like that!" cried Elaine with wide eyes.

"Why not? You should tell him how you feel, right Sakura?" asked Domino.

"Huh? Oh yeah…you should tell him," replied Sakura in a offhanded way. "_Whoa, what's wrong with me? I feel sad for some reason._"

Domino and Elaine glanced at each other worriedly before silently agreeing to change the subject.

"Sakura, how good of a kisser do you think Sasuke is? Maybe we should ask Naruto, he would know," Domino said with a laugh.

Elaine merely rolled her eyes before directing her gaze towards the star filled sky.

"_Could I really tell Naruto such a thing?_"

* * *

"The hell!? Were does this thing go?" whined Naruto three minutes later.

Naruto was scratching his head in confusion while holding a wooden beam in his free hand. Genmaru chuckled a bit before speaking.

"That's one of the roof beams, Naruto," he explained amicably.

Naruto stole a glance at Genmaru's half of the tent. The structure was already securely locked together and standing upright. One of the legs had already been secured to a wooden stake that Genmaru was hammering effortlessly into the ground. Naruto returned his gaze back to his half of the tent, which was still just a pile of poles save for one leaning leg that he managed to ram into the ground.

Naruto surveyed the instruction manual with a frown then he sighed.

"I don't understand this at all!" he whined again.

By this time, Genmaru had pounded the last stake into the ground. With his half of the tent completed, he then went over to assist Naruto.

"Need a hand, Naruto?" asked the misty eyed ninja with a smile.

"Do I ever! Thank you, Genmaru!" replied Naruto while rubbing his head sheepishly.

Naruto made to hand Genmaru the instructions which he quickly looked over. With a satisfied nod, Genmaru grabbed several of Naruto's poles and snapped them easily together. In less than a minute, Naruto's half of the tent had been constructed.

"There you go," announced Genmaru cheerfully once he was finished.

"Whoa! That was fast!" said Naruto gratefully while admiring the now completed tent.

"Yeah, well it's a lot easier to do the second time around," said Genmaru with a laugh. "Here, you hold it upright while I secure the legs."

Genmaru handed the wooden structure to Naruto, who immediately stood it upright as requested. Genmaru coiled one end of some rope around the structure's leg and attached the other in to a stake he produced from his backpack. The taller ninja then crouched with a hammer in hand to pound the metal nail into the ground. As Genmaru worked Naruto finally said what had been on his mind all afternoon.

"Genmaru, can you show me how to move as fast as you did when those jerks attacked us?" asked the blond hopefully.

Genmaru paused in mid swing to look at Naruto with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, Genmaru resumed pounding in the stakes.

"I could do that, but it's not something I can really teach you now," replied the tan boy as he worked.

"But I really want to learn how! Please teach me, I'll do anything it takes!" begged Naruto with determined eyes.

Genmaru proceed to secure the other leg then he stood up to his full height. He unfastened his sword from his back and held the concealed blade towards Naruto. Eagerly, the blond held his hands out for the sword. The moment Genmaru completely let go of the katana, Naruto's arms dropped limply to the ground!

"_The hell!? It's so heavy!_" thought Naruto in shock while straining to lift his trembling arms.

"Draw the blade from its' sheathe," instructed Genmaru quietly. "Until you can do that, I won't be able to show you how to become faster."

"What!? But I can barely carry this thing!" complained Naruto while trying to ignore the sharp pain in his straining arms.

"Ah, so you've noticed the weight of the sword have you?" observed Genmaru with his arms folded. "This is a special relic that is given to every male in my clan. The sword itself weights exactly fifty pounds, fifty-five with the sheathe. It's true purpose, other than being a fighting weapon, is to help the wielder develop both speed and strength twenty-four seven," he explained.

By this point, Naruto was bent over gorilla style from the weight.

"How the hell can you fight with this thing!?" cried Naruto.

Genmaru laughed.

"Go ahead and try to draw the sword, Naruto," encouraged Genmaru with a chuckle.

"_Damn it, my arms are getting sore!_" thought Naruto while gingerly shifting his grip on the blade. "_But there's no way I'm backing out of it now! I have to become…_STRONGER!!" he bellowed the last word of his thoughts.

Naruto then tugged as hard as he could on the handle of the heavy sword. However, the blade stubbornly refused to come free of its' sheathe. Naruto grunted in frustration and tried again with a yell. The blond ninja struggled with the sword for nearly two minutes before tiredly falling on his butt to greedily suck in mouthfuls of air.

"Not as easy as it looks eh?" said Genmaru with a knowing smile.

"G-god damn!" wheezed Naruto exhaustedly.

"Just as I thought, you're not quite ready yet, Naruto," said Genmaru while reaching for his blade.

Naruto recoiled from Genmaru's extended hand.

"Not yet!" he gasped. "I promised myself that I would get stronger on my own, so if I can't even draw a sword then there's no point of me even being here! Just you watch, I'll draw this damn sword and then you'll have to train me!" he declared before resuming the test of the dragon sword with a loud cry.

Genmaru grinned at Naruto's determination and calmly turned around to resume putting up the tent.

"_Naruto…you've got some real guts my friend. I think now I'm beginning to see why Elaine thinks so highly of you. I would be honored to fight with you one day when you've gotten stronger. So until then, continue to improve and grow while I see how far your path goes._"

He turned back towards his new found rival with a smile before gazing towards the star filled sky…

* * *

It was late the next morning by the time the group had finally reached the wharf where the ferryman was waiting. However, while a ferry was present, the ferryman was nowhere in sight. Tazuna then made an odd sounding duck call.

"Good grief! I would like to see what kind of duck responds to that," moaned Elaine while clasping her hands over her ears.

The group then heard the sound of a motor. A few moments later, a small boat came into sight.

"Here it comes now and it's one weird looking duck," joked Domino with a snicker.

Once the boat got close enough, the group took a good look at the pilot.

The ferryman was a tall fellow who looked to be in his mid forties. He was wearing gray trousers and a weather worn cloak. To complete the look, he was wearing a straw hat that was shaped like a disk. The man wore a kind yet solemn smile upon seeing Tazuna.

"At last, you've returned Tazuna-san," he said.

"Indeed I have, Mu. How fairs the village?" asked Tazuna.

"The situation has not changed, though whether that is good or bad I cannot say," replied Mu.

"I see, and has anyone else volunteered for the bridge construction project?" asked Tazuna with a frown.

"Only two others were willing to help, Tazuna-san," replied Mu sadly.

"Very well, I brought aid from Konoha. Perhaps now more recruits will aid us, but either way I will finish that bridge," stated Tazuna grimly.

"Very good then, Tazuna-san. I pray that this ordeal will be over soon," said the ferryman tiredly. "Anyway you've arrived at a good time. There will be a thick veil of mist surrounding the island today. It should provide us excellent cover."

"Perfect, then let us now depart," ordered Tazuna.

With that said, the group divided up into either of the two ferries with Team Nine taking one and Tazuna and Team Seven taking another. Once they boarded their respective crafts, they begun the journey to Wave…

* * *

The mist was extraordinarily thick as the two ferries traversed the ocean. The waves were gently lapping against the boats in such a quiet fashion that Domino had already fallen asleep. Elaine covered her with a blanket from her backpack before she resumed staring into the void like fog.

"_This mist is so thick. It's impossible to see very far ahead,_" observed Elaine.

Elaine glanced towards Genmaru who also wore an wary frown on his face as he navigated the craft. Naruto and company, she saw, didn't seem any less leery of the forbidding mist either. After some time, the ferryman piloting Naruto's craft spoke up.

"We should be able to see the bridge soon," he announced. "If we move along the side of the bridge, we'll be able to dock near Namigakure."

Everyone nodded in relief at the thought of leaving this accursed fog. Before long, just as the ferryman promised, the dark outline of the bridge became visible. Once they got close enough to it, the group were able to spot various construction machines littering the future road's surface.

"Wow, it's huge!" exclaimed Naruto suddenly in a loud voice.

"Hey, be quiet!" ordered the ferryman angrily. "Do you want to get us caught!? What do you think we're hiding under cover of the mist for!"

"S-sorry," replied Naruto while glancing around for anyone who might've heard him.

"It's fine but be more cautious from now on!" grumbled Tazuna.

Naruto didn't reply to this and opted instead to keep a keen lookout for the dock. A few minutes later, the port came into view. Kakashi choose this moment to speak quietly to Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san, before the boat gets to the pier there's something I need to ask you," said Kakashi.

Tazuna didn't say anything.

"We'll need to know the identity of the one who's after you and they reason why he's pursuing you or I really will call this mission off once you get ashore," continued Kakashi darkly.

Everyone waited in anticipation of Tazuna's dilemma for several long moments before the old man spoke with a grunt.

"It looks like I'll have to tell you guys the real story then," he began. "Just as you said, the details of this mission are incomplete. An extremely terrible man is after my life. He goes by the name of Gatoh."

"Gatoh!?" said Kakashi with a start. "Of Gatoh company? He's one of the richest men alive!"

"Hm? Who's that?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Just like Kakashi-sensei said, Gatoh is the president of a marine transportation company," supplied Sakura.

"Indeed," said Tazuna with a confirmative nod. "However, Gatoh is also involved in illegal drug and smuggling activities using the aid of rogue ninjas. He has also hired them to stage hostile takeovers of other countries and companies."

"That's terrible, but why would he be after you?" asked Elaine.

This time Mu spoke.

"Well you see, about a year ago Gatoh set his sights on Water Country. He has caused all kinds of problems but nobody can prove it at this time since all eyewitnesses are usually killed within a day. So far he's managed to seize control of the sea trading routes. So money and goods are really hard to come by," he explained.

"I see, so if you manage to complete the bridge linking Fire Country to Water Country…" begun Genmaru.

"Gatoh will lose a lot of influence over the country granting you guys your independence," finished Elaine.

"Naturally you, as the builder, have become an obstacle to him. No wonder you guys had to lie," observed Sakura.

"Yes and I am truly sorry, but we simply couldn't afford a B ranked mission with things as they are," said Tazuna with an apologetic bow. "If you guys abort the mission now, I'll be killed for sure."

The two teams glanced at each other before coming to a silent agreement.

"Alright, we'll continue to protect you Tazuna-san," said Kakashi.

"However," chimed in Genmaru. "Elaine, Domino and myself will only be able to lend a hand until you resume construction on the bridge. As much as we would like to help, it is important that we get started on our own mission in Amegakure," he explained with an apologetic shrug.

"But if we manage to finish early enough, we'll return as soon as possible to assist you," promised Elaine determinedly.

"Oh, that's great to hear! Thank you very much!" said Tazuna with a grateful smile.

"It's no trouble at all," replied Elaine with an assuring smile.

"What's no trouble?" asked Domino suddenly with a sleepy yawn.

She looked around to see everyone staring at her.

"I have a feeling that I missed something important," said Domino with a sheepish grin.

Everyone sweat dropped…

* * *

They arrived on land a few minutes later. During the ride, they filled Domino in on the details she missed during her nap.

"Don't worry about a thing, we'll be back before you know it!" declared Domino with a teasing smile.

Tazuna nodded in approval then the ferryman spoke.

"This is as far as I can go, so best of luck and god speed with the bridge project," he said with a curt nod before pushing off from the shore.

The group watched him until he vanished into the mist then they resumed the trek towards Namigakure…

* * *

The two teams had been traveling for nearly an hour through the forest in silence. Before long, they begun to grow restless.

"How much further is it?" whined Naruto.

"Not too far. Another hour's walk until we arrive," answered Kakashi. "_The question is will the enemy strike before then. I have a feeling that the next opponent will probably be on Jounin level,_" he thought darkly.

Satisfied with his answer, the group begun to travel at a slightly faster pace to save time. It wasn't until ten minutes later that Naruto begun to grow restless again. He suddenly rushed forward with a kunai drawn.

"There!" he cried while hurling the knife into some scrubs.

Everyone tensed, as if expecting a target to leap out of the foliage then they heard Naruto snicker.

"Guess it was just a mouse," he teased.

"YOU JERK! DON'T SCARE US LIKE THAT!" roared Sakura.

Elaine and Domino sighed while clutching their pounding hearts. Kakashi, Sasuke and Genmaru sweat dropped. Tazuna however, merely looked livid.

"You little dwarf! I'll teach you to play pranks!" bellowed Tazuna.

"Aw come on, can't you take a…" Naruto paused in mid-sentence to draw another kunai which he hurled into some nearby bushes.

"I told you to stop!" growled Sakura before punching Naruto in the head as hard as she could.

"Itai!" moaned Naruto while cradling his head. "But I really did sense something that time!" he whined.

"Liar!" spat Sakura.

"He's not lying Sakura," said Genmaru quietly. "I felt it too."

Kakashi approached the scrubs at that moment and shoved the branches aside to reveal…

"Aw, a snow rabbit!" cooed Domino with a laugh.

The bunny in question was trembling in terror. The fact that Naruto's kunai was logged mere inches above its' head in a tree did little for the creature's nerves.

"The poor thing is scared witless," said Elaine with a worried frown.

Naruto ran forward to pick up the trembling creature.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" he chanted to it over and over again.

Sasuke glared suspiciously at the bunny.

"Why does it have white fur in the middle of spring?" Sasuke asked darkly.

"Yeah, come to think of it. Rabbit's fur normally turn white only in winter," said Tazuna with a puzzled frown. "Think it belongs to someone?"

Suddenly they heard the rustling of leaves in a nearby tree.

"Everyone, get down!" ordered Kakashi to which the group was quick to obey.

Naruto had only just hit the ground when he felt a rush of wind blow pass him. There was a loud thunk to which everyone looked towards. What they found was a rather large sword buried into the body of a tree. A split second later a man appeared standing on the handle of the blade with his back turned.

The man had extremely tan skin and was topless. He was only wearing a pair of light blue pants that ended in leg guards that looked like cow hide. He wore similar looking arm guards and a forehead protector with three wavy lines curved into the metal. The man's hair was black and cut low. He was gazing at them with brown eyes that betrayed hardly any emotion. Oddly enough, the lower half of his face was wrapped in bandages.

"Oh great, here comes the mummy!" joked Domino while warily surveying the figure's sword.

"_Looks like a tough one,_" observed Elaine

"_What's with the cow hide?_" mused Domino with a smirk.

"_Who is that? Is he a ninja?_" wondered Sakura.

"_No way I'm going to lose to Sasuke this time!_" thought Naruto determinedly while setting the rabbit down so it could flee.

For several long moments nobody moved, then Kakashi stepped forward.

"Hey, hey, you're Momochi Zabuza. An exiled ninja from the Hidden Mist Village if I'm not mistaken," said Kakashi casually.

"_Exiled ninja? Ah to hell with it, I'll get this guy myself without any help from Sasuke!_" thought Naruto who suddenly made to charge at the mysterious stranger.

Kakashi halted him with a wave of his hand.

"This guy is in another class. Stay back everyone!" ordered Kakashi.

"But, Sensei!" protested Naruto.

"Domino, Elaine, Genmaru…you guys aren't under my jurisdiction, but I want you to promise me you'll stay out of the battle," ordered Kakashi while ignoring Naruto.

For a moment Team Nine did nothing, then slowly they all nodded their compliance to Kakashi's wishes.

"Good. Now if he's our enemy I won't be able to beat him like this," muttered the gray haired ninja to himself while grasping his forehead protector.

The man called Zabuza, who had been watching the exchange in silence, begun to speak.

"I'm guessing that you are the famous Sharingan no Kakashi," said the man in a hollow sounding voice. "I'm sorry, but I'll need you to hand over the geezer."

Sasuke gave a start.

"_Impossible, none but a selected few members of the Uchiha clan can use the Sharingan!_" thought Sasuke with a disbelieving glare in Kakashi's direction.

"_What's a Sharingan?_" thought Naruto in confusion.

"_I see, so the rumors are true,_" thought Genmaru with a faint smile.

The others stared on in anticipation of seeing the infamous bloodline of the deceased Uchiha clan.

"Everyone, form the swastika formation and protect Tazuna-san," ordered Kakashi before lifting his forehead protector.

To everyone's shock, Kakashi raised the part of the head guard that was covering his left eye to reveal a scar right in the center of his eyelid. He slowly opened his left eye. Amazingly, his iris was a bright blood red and emblazoned with what looked like a trio of sixes surrounding the pupil.

"Fight me," was all Kakashi said once his eye was completely revealed…

* * *

"At last, I'm honored to be able to see the Sharingan that I've heard so much about," drawled Zabuza.

"Hold on!" cried Naruto. "You guys have been saying Sharingan this and Sharingan that but what is it?"

Surprisingly enough, Sasuke answered Naruto's question.

"The Sharingan is an advanced bloodline ability that is created by the pupil. It is used by Doujutsu users and is said to have the power to see through and cancel out the effect of Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu skills. The Sharingan is one of several different kinds of eyes that a Doujutsu user can possess, but it also has other powers," he explained.

"You're right, that isn't all it can do," cut in Zabuza who had been keenly listening to the conversation. "The best part is that the Sharingan can understand how a technique works and allow the user to copy it. When I was in Kirigakure's Anbu squad, one such Doujutsu user's information was listed in the Bingo book requesting his capture. That man is the infamous Copy Ninja Kakashi, copier of over one-thousand Jutsu."

Everyone stared in awe at the gray haired ninja who never took his eyes off of Zabuza.

"_Who would've thought that Kakashi-sensei was that great of a ninja. He's so cool!_" thought Sakura with everyone else's exact thoughts.

"Okay, let's cut the chit-chat here. I do have a job to do and it looks like I'll have to get rid of you first," said Zabuza directly to Kakashi.

Immediately everyone surrounded Tazuna with Sasuke covering his front, Sakura covering his left side, Naruto his right, and Elaine covering the rear. Genmaru and Domino stood on either side of the group as extra support. With that done Kakashi stood calmly in anticipation of Zabuza's first move.

In a flash of movement, Zabuza kicked off from the tree towards Kakashi with his blade in hand. Just before he got within striking distance, he vanished mysteriously into thin air. Kakashi wasn't fooled by the feint though and quickly turned with searching eyes to see Zabuza standing atop a small lake of water that was nearby. The sword wielding ninja had his left hand pointing skyward while his right was in a prayer position. The middle and index fingers of both hands were extended. Abruptly the section of water he was standing on begun to swirl rapidly around his feet.

"_He's embedding a lot of Chakra into the water. He must be attempting something big,_" observed Kakashi.

By this point, the swirling water had begun to raise and rotate around Zabuza like an aura of some short. Suddenly a gust of wind picked up, causing a noticeable drop in temperature.

"Ninpou, Kirigakure no Jutsu," said Zabuza quietly.

Immediately the surrounding area was consumed by an extremely thick blanket of mist. So thick was the cloud, that it was impossible to see more than five feet ahead. Zabuza vanished from sight in the wake of the ominous fog.

"_I see, so this is the Hidden Mist Concealment technique,_" thought Kakashi.

"Sensei, where are you?" came Sakura's voice from somewhere behind him.

"What's with this freakin mist!" whined Naruto as well.

"I'm so cold," added Elaine.

"Everyone, listen carefully. Momochi Zabuza is a dangerous enemy who is known for his silent killing techniques. It's very possible that in this low visibility, you'll be dead before you know it. Try not to make too much noise to avoid detection! Also don't drop your guard!" ordered Kakashi.

"Right!" they replied before becoming completely silent.

"_Good, now I won't have to worry as much about their safety. Still as things are, it'll be difficult to use the Sharingan to it's fullest potential,_" thought Kakashi grimly.

Suddenly the mist begun to get even thicker.

"_Crap! The natural mist around the island must be merging with Zabuza's technique. I can barely see my own hands!_" thought Kakashi with a frown.

The eerie silence that followed the arrival of the mist only served to heighten the tension in the air. Suddenly the group heard Zabuza's voice from some indiscernible location.

"You have eight points to choose from…the larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart. Now which vital organ do you want to get struck at?" he asked in his emotionless voice.

Everyone's eyes widen in terror at the thought.

"_Dammit, there's only one option!_" thought Kakashi while forming a hand seal.

Suddenly there was a large gust of wind. The rushing wave of air was just fast enough to considerably thin the mist somewhat. This resulted in everyone being able to see each other in a washed out way. The group turned towards the source of the wind to see Kakashi radiating with a swirling aura of chakra.

"_Sensei…_" thought Naruto and Sakura in awe.

"_What an intense thirst for blood. Any move I make will be detected and get me killed. That's the atmosphere I feel. If I stay here for an hour, I'll lose my mind,_" thought Sasuke with mounting terror._ "The murderous intent of two Jounins clashing and the feeling that my life is in someone else's hands. No! I would rather die than experience this nightmare!_"

Sasuke slowly rose a kunai over his heart.

"Don't, Sasuke!" said Kakashi suddenly causing Sasuke to come to a halt. "Don't worry, I'll protect you guys with my life."

Sasuke seemed to calm a bit and he nodded towards Kakashi before lowering his weapon.

"_Thank you, Sensei,_" he thought to himself.

"I don't know about that," came the voice everyone dreaded to hear.

Suddenly in a flash of movement, Zabuza appeared in the center of the protective circle the group had formed around Tazuna. Everyone gasped in shock at the vulnerable position they were in.

"Looks like this is the end," drawled Zabuza before swinging his blade in a beheading cleave towards Sakura.

Suddenly there came the clang of metal on metal and Zabuza found his blade being deadlocked by Genmaru's.

"When did you…!?" he begun before he found himself flying towards Kakashi, courtesy of a stone covered power punch from Domino.

Elaine added insult to the injury by hurling several Senbon which logged themselves firmly in vital pressure points causing Zabuza's body to lapse into a stage of total paralysis. Kakashi finished the chain of attacks by leaping forward with a kunai drawn. Kakashi buried the knife into Zabuza's stomach drawing both a grunt of pain and a trickle of…

"_Water!?_" thought Kakashi in confusion.

Zabuza suddenly dissolved into a puddle of the fluid.

"Sensei, behind you!" yelled Naruto urgently.

"Too late," said Zabuza while Kakashi glanced over his shoulder. "DIE!" he roared before swinging his blade.

Kakashi suddenly felt intense pain from his waist. Zabuza had cleaved him in half he realized as his breathing slowed to a halt. Zabuza smiled in triumph when suddenly the dying gray haired ninja also dissolved into a puddle of water.

"_The Water Clone technique?! How did he copy it in this mist!?_" thought a wide eyed Zabuza in despair.

His distress was short lived however when he felt cold steel press against his throat.

"Don't move," came Kakashi's cold voice. "This is the end."

For a moment Zabuza was stunned into a surprised silence, then he begun to laugh. Softly at first, until it erupted into a deep throated chuckle.

"What's so funny?" demanded Naruto in a miffed tone.

"You guys are. Surely you don't truly believe that you've won do you?" replied Zabuza in amusement.

"Looks like it to me!" quipped Domino with her hands on her hips in a sassy manner.

Zabuza laughed again.

"Fools, you still don't seem to understand. Although I have to admit that you're pretty good, Kakashi," he said while directing his attention to his captor. "Unless I'm mistaken, you copied my Water Clone technique when you were chatting with the black haired brat over there. Then by making your clone speak as if it were the real one, you drew my attention to it while you observed my movement under the cover of the mist."

"However…" came a voice from behind Kakashi who's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not that easy to defeat!"

The Zabuza that was standing in front of Kakashi then exploded in a splash of water, momentarily startling the gray haired ninja.

"_Shit!_" thought Kakashi.

Acting on instinct, Kakashi ducked as low as he could and just in time it seemed. He felt the breeze from the force of Zabuza's missed swing brush his neck. He glanced over his shoulder and was pleased to see that Zabuza wouldn't be able to slow his momentum from the failed attack. However, the tan sword man seemed to roll into the swing. The moment his sword smashed into the ground, Zabuza used it as a boost to score an extremely powerful kick. Kakashi was launched nine feet into the air towards the lake. Instantly, Zabuza was dashing towards the flying ninja with the intent to cleave him in half long before he hit the water. The distance to his target was closing fast when suddenly Zabuza caught sight of a glint on the ground in front of him. Abruptly he came to a halt just before he would've stepped on the spiked balls littering the ground.

"_Caltraps huh? What an idiot,_" thought the sword wielder before he leaped over them.

Fortunately for Kakashi the trap had bought him enough time to land, with a splash, safely into the water. The trouble started however, when he surfaced for air.

"Ugh, what's with this water? It's ridiculously heavy for some reason," he grumbled to himself.

At that moment, Zabuza had touched down next to Kakashi and begun to flash through a series of hand seals.

"Suirou no Jutsu!" he cried while thrusting his hand at Kakashi.

Without warning, Kakashi was enveloped in a rotating sphere of water. The gray haired ninja tried to move but his effort was futile.

"_Damn, I'm frozen! Looks like it was a mistake to try to use the water for cover,_" he glared hatefully at Zabuza who merely laughed.

"You're mine now! This is a special Hydro Prison of which you have no hope of escape. Now then, I'll eliminate you later…" Zabuza turned towards the others. "First, I'll destroy the lot of you!"

Zabuza raised his free hand into a prayer position with his middle and index fingers extended. Everyone tensed in preparation for the worse.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Zabuza.

The lake water begun to churn before a small amount of it assumed the shape of Zabuza. Within seconds, a water clone had been spawned. The clone begun to laugh before it spoke.

"The six of you have forehead protectors on as if you think you're ninjas. But a real ninja is one who has gone through many life and death situations. As far as I'm concerned, you are all just a bunch of kids until your name appears in my Bingo book," berated the clone.

Everyone begun to tremble in fury, but the clone paid them no mind. Forming a hand seal, the surrounding mist enveloped it, hiding the fake from sight…

* * *

Naruto had only blinked once before he felt an enormous amount of pressure on his chin. Instantly he flew back several feet and landed heavily on his back while cradling his sore chin. When Naruto looked up he was shocked to find the clone holding his forehead protector in his hand. The clone dropped it and maliciously stepped on it while grinding it into the dirt with his heel.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" asked Elaine with worry etched on her face.

He gingerly tested his smarting chin before nodding that he was fine. Everyone sighed in relief before glaring at the clone.

"You jerk!" yelled Domino in fury.

The clone only stared balefully at her with his arms crossed.

"Everyone, take Tazuna-san and run!" screamed Kakashi from within his watery confinement. "As long as he has me imprisoned in here Zabuza won't be able to move. Also if you guys get far enough away, his clone won't be able to follow you either!"

"Are you mad!?" shot back Domino.

"She right, even if we run away he'll just come after us again sooner or later. Plus without you we'll be at a disadvantage!" added Sakura.

As if to prove their point, Sasuke charged at the clone.

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto in shock.

The black haired boy ignored him and proceeded to hurl several shuriken at the clone. Effortlessly, it swatted them away with a swing of his massive sword. Suddenly Sasuke took to the air with a high jump. He withdrew a kunai from his pouch and allowed gravity to propel him towards the almost bored looking clone.

"Too easy," it muttered while rearing back his blade for an impaling thrust.

All of a sudden, the clone felt extreme pain in his gut that caused him to double over. As he did this, he saw Genmaru standing in front of him with his elbow smashed into his stomach.

"Did you forget? You have six opponents you slime!" spat Genmaru venomously.

"_Curse this brat!_" was the clone's final thought before Sasuke landed on his shoulders while driving the kunai into his head.

The clone burst into a puddle of water and Sasuke landed safely next to Naruto's forehead protector, which he tossed to the blond ninja.

"Next one," said Sasuke coolly with a smirk.

The others also begun to grin at the ease in which the water clone was beaten. At that moment, they all knew that they had the advantage in numbers.

"Damn kids! I'll slaughter you all!" bellowed Zabuza while forming the seal for the water clone technique again.

The very lake seemed to bubble as several patches begun to take the form of Zabuza.

"This is bad!" cried Tazuna with wide eyes. "There has to be nearly fifty of them!"

The others were too unnerved by the sight to comment. Once the mass of clones finally stopped spawning, they all glared at the two teams with identical expressions of cold fury.

"Now who wants to die first?" asked all the clones at once.

"Hah, you don't scare us!" cried Naruto suddenly with a twitchy grin.

Seeing Naruto's intentions, Domino also begun to grin.

"Yeah, you could make a thousand of those ugly faces and you still wouldn't be able to beat us!" added Domino with a laugh.

The clones furious gazes became livid with wrath.

"Hey are you two insane!? Don't provoke them!" cried Tazuna in terror.

"At this point, what would be the point in not speaking our minds?" commented Genmaru with an amused smile.

Everyone slowly sunk into battle poses in preparation for the upcoming showdown.

"What do you think you're doing? I told you guys to run away!" yelled Kakashi suddenly at the sight.

"Shut up Sensei, we can take them!" shot back Naruto.

"Baka, this isn't a game! Our mission is to protect Tazuna-san, did you forget that!?" roared Kakashi.

Naruto flinched at his tone before turning towards Tazuna.

"Old man…" he begun nervously.

For a moment Tazuna said nothing while staring at the ground, then he spoke.

"Don't worry, I caused this mess in the first place so I won't say that I want to survive no matter what. Just do me a favor and give that guy hell for me!" encouraged Tazuna with a smirk.

Naruto and the others grinned broadly enough to create a miniature sun before turning back to Kakashi. The muzzles had been removed at long last.

"You heard the man, Sensei! Let's rock everyone!"

All of the clones erupted into throaty laughter.

"Idiots," was all they said then they rushed the group.

Domino led the counter charge with the others following close behind. Within eight paces, the lavender eyed ninja was in attack range. Suddenly Domino's entire body was engulfed in a golden aura of chakra. Then as quickly as it came, it faded to reveal her clad in a curve hugging stone combat suit. The suit's surface appeared as smooth as glass to the naked eye and yet it was oddly enough moving just as an ordinary body would. Domino's head was also covered in a stone helmet that looked almost exactly like a dragon head that Naruto had seen pictures of. Where Domino's eyes should have been were instead two twin gleams of golden light. The clones slowed their charge to marvel at the amazing sight…

"Chiryuu, Jinenbu!" cried Domino in an unearthly voice.

Suddenly the back of the armored ninja's suit sprouted a pair of stone wings and from her stone covered hands emerged a pair of stone talons. The massive wings only flapped once before Domino disappeared in a flash of movement that was impossible to follow. Domino's presence was made known again instantly when two of the water clones gasped in pain. The two clones weakly glanced at their chest to find Domino's stone claws jutting from them. They had been impaled! Effortlessly, it seemed, Domino hurled the two helpless clones into the remaining forty-eight causing them to fall over like a stack of cards. The two dying clones then burst into twin puddles of water.

Everyone was stunned speechless by this amazing feat with the exception of Elaine and Genmaru, who smirked knowingly at the pile of battered clones. Quickly the many Zabuzas struggled to comically untangle themselves. As they did this the winged fighter calmly flashed the thumbs up sign to her comrades before turning back around to patiently wait for the clones to stand up again.

"_Getting serious already eh honey?_" thought Genmaru fondly. "_Not very many people could handle the Earth Dragon, Circular Battle Dance. It an outstandingly powerful Taijutsu style that gradually increases the users strength with each move made. I almost feel sorry for the person unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the technique._"

Once the army was finally standing upright, Domino reared back her left hand with the palm facing upwards. Immediately, Elaine sprang forward and landed on Domino's waiting hand. Quickly the winged ninja hurled Elaine head first into the waiting army of clones. As Elaine flew towards the mass at insane speeds, from the force of Domino's throw, she withdrew a kunai from her pouch. The clones had no time to react and the blue haired girl skidded to a halt behind the army after passing through them unharmed. With moans of pain four of the clones, who were bearing gaping slashes across their throats, exploded into puddles of water. Before the liquefied clones had even hit the ground, Elaine flashed through a series of hand seals. In midair, the defeated clones merged into a small sphere of condensed water that rocketed towards Elaine's outstretched hand.

"Suiton, Kairyuu Ha!" she cried while trusting the hand holding the watery sphere towards the clones.

The sphere of water begun to rapidly rotate until it appeared as nothing more that a flat disk. Then a furious torrent of water launched towards the clones. Just before the blast hit, the impact point of the technique assumed the shape of an enraged sea serpent. The watery beast opened it's jaws wide before ripping into the group. Instantly, fifteen of the bewildered clones were decapitated. They too melted into puddles of water.

"_Was that the legendary Sea Dragon Wave!?_" thought a wide eyed Kakashi with a start. "_But I thought only he could use it!_"

"What are you?" stammered one of the clones in horror.

This clone never received an answer. Genmaru appeared suddenly in front of the terrified clone with his sword already drawn and reared back for a swing. With hardly any emotion reflected in his eyes, Genmaru cleaved the clone almost completely in half. Before it could dissolve into water like the others, Genmaru kicked the lifeless shell into several of the other clones knocking them over. The misty eyed swords master quickly sheathed his blade and begun to form several hand seals.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!" bellowed Genmaru.

Quickly he sucked in a deep breath of air. Genmaru then clasped his hands together in a prayer position before he begun firing a volley of fireballs. One clone got hit and exploded on the spot. Then another and another. Before long Genmaru finally stopped his technique with a slow and steady sigh. The technique had taken all but five seconds of repeated use, but it resulted in the destruction of twenty-one water clones. Only six clones were still standing.

"_Six? But there should be seven left! Did I miscount the number of them I destroyed with the Fire Dragon Flame Missiles?_" thought Genmaru with a start.

"Suirou no Jutsu," came the unexpected drawl of the missing clone from behind him.

Genmaru only had time to tense in fear before the Hydro Prison technique claimed him…

* * *

For a moment all was still save for the heavy breathing of Elaine and Domino. Then time begun to flow again.

"Genmaru!!" cried Domino and Elaine in unison.

"Stupid kids…" grumbled Kakashi in dismay from within his prison.

"_Shit! This guy must've burrowed underground after Genmaru knocked the group over,_" thought Sasuke with a glare.

"Be careful guys! They're more cunning then they let on!" warned Genmaru from within his confinement.

"_They are pretty strong…but I've got to help Genmaru no matter what!_" vowed Naruto silently.

The blond rushed towards the clone binding Genmaru with an enraged yell.

"Naruto! Come back!" cried Sakura in shock.

Naruto ignored her and continued dashing towards Genmaru's captor.

"_Just five more paces!_" thought the blond desperately.

One pace went by, then two. Naruto had just made the third pace with a kunai drawn when suddenly, two of the remaining clones appeared out of thin air to bar Naruto's path. A third clone appeared behind Naruto with his sword already in motion.

"Damn it!" roared the blond in frustration.

The giant sword was just about to cleave him in half when unexpectedly, there came the dull clang of metal on stone. Domino had caught the blade with both of her stone hands causing it to come to a halt!

"Move, Naruto!" ordered his stone covered savior.

Not one to be told twice, Naruto leaped aside and just in time it seemed. Domino had begun to rapidly spin while holding onto the massive blade with the clone still attached to it. Domino spun faster and faster and before the dizzying clone thought to let go of the sword, Domino had smashed him like a giant club into two other clones. They went flying while the makeshift weapon Domino wielded burst into water.

The clone that had Genmaru imprisoned begun to visibly tremble in terror.

"_These brats…they're too powerful to be Genin!_" he thought darkly.

The other three clones quickly surrounded the binder clone and made the seal for the Hidden Mist technique. In an instant, they were enveloped in a shroud of extremely thick mist.

"Damn it! It's the freaking mist again!" groaned Naruto mirroring everyone else's thoughts.

The group tensed as the ominous fog slowly begun to spread throughout the area. Soon enough, visibility dropped to practically nothing. Worst yet was the thought that there were still six lethal clones waiting to strike.

"Everyone! Take to the treetops!" came an unexpected cry from Elaine from some unknown location.

Naruto wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew from the urgency in Elaine's voice that he didn't want to be caught in it. Naruto picked a random direction and ran for it. Twelve paces later, he came to a large oak tree where Sakura and Elaine were already perched. Sasuke and Tazuna were nowhere in sight, but Naruto was certain that they too had reached a safe location. Quickly he leaped onto a low hanging branch and crouched down to more effectively conceal himself in the leaves.

"Hey Elaine, what's going on? Why are we hiding in the trees?" whispered Naruto.

The blue haired girl merely smiled in an almost wolfish way before raising a finger to her lips.

"Watch," was all she said before turning her full attention onto the mist.

Naruto and Sakura both peered intensely into the mist hoping to spot what Elaine was searching for. For a full minute, nothing stirred or seemed to be happening at all. Then faintly, the trio spotted a glimmer of gold light. In the low visibility it was impossible to see what the source of the illumination was, but Naruto had a sinking suspicion that a certain lavender eyed girl was responsible. Suddenly, the very ground begun to tremble. The shaking grew more and more extreme until it reached the point of being a magnitude. Then there was an ear splitting boom.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" bellowed Sakura over the loud rumbling.

A huge cloud of dust as well as a strong torrent of wind shot into the sky. The gust was just strong enough it seemed to thin the mist enough for the others to see a rough outline of Domino. The stone covered joker was kneeling in a sizeable crater with her left hand buried in the ground. Her right hand was covered in golden chakra. Amazingly, seven giant chunks of the solid rock started raising, like a ring, around Domino. They then begun to rotate around her like a miniature solar system. She rose to her full height.

"Doton, Doryuudan!" bellowed the stone fighter.

The revolving rocks broke apart into several shards of razor sharp stones. Slowly, Domino raised her glowing right hand skyward causing the rocks to go flying in every direction like a storm of bullets.

For the first time ever, Naruto was glad that he was in the safety of the trees. The sight of the deadly shards severing trees and boulders, like a hot knife through butter, served to remained him how close he came to being sliced to ribbons. It seemed that the moment the stones came into contact with anything, it would then reverse directions until it hit something else. Over and over again the stones continued to do this until finally, a grunt of pain sounded. Domino aimed her glowing hand towards the sound causing all the flying shards to head towards it. The wounded clone quickly busted out of the foliage that it was hiding in and made a mad dash towards Domino.

He was too late, the shards plowed through his guts leaving a gapping hole at the impact point. The deadly stones then proceeded to slice and dice the hapless clone until it exploded into a puddle of water. Once the clone was beaten, the flying shards begun to sweep the area again in search of more prey.

"So cool…" whispered an amazed Sakura.

Elaine giggled.

"That would be Domino's Earth Dragon Missiles. I doubt I'll need to tell you the reason for it's name," said Elaine with a smile while swinging her shapely legs to and fro for lack of things to do. "I imagine that her technique will most likely finish off the rest of those creeps."

Sure enough, there came another grunt of pain. Another clone staggered out into the clearing with murder evident in it's eyes. Domino wasn't intimidated, though it was impossible to tell due to her helmet. Wordlessly she trusted her chakra covered hand at the clone. The shards had just started rocketing towards the clone when all of a sudden, the stone fighter fell to her knees gasping for air. The hovering stones also dropped lifelessly to the ground. A large crack appeared in her stone suit before the armor crumbled away completely. Domino clutched a hand over her heart while exhaustedly drawing ragged breaths of air. The injured clone's eyes kindled with renewed malice as he advanced on his tired prey.

"Oh no! Domino ran out of chakra! Using the armor and Dragon Missiles together must have drained her reserves too fast!" exclaimed Elaine.

Without warning the blue haired girl dropped out of the tree and begun dashing towards her wary teammate.

"Wha…Elaine, we don't know where the other clones are! Come back!!" cried Naruto in alarm.

But Elaine would not or could not stop now. Her only thought was to aid her comrade. With a grunt of frustration, Naruto gave chase with Sakura following close behind. Elaine grew steadily closer to her friend when, just as she was expecting, a clone appeared with his sword already in motion.

"DIE!" it bellowed.

Elaine smirked before performing a slide on the thankfully moist grass. Her momentum coupled with the wet greenery propelled her safely between the clone's spread legs. It growled in annoyance at it's miscalculated error and was in the process of turning around for another attack when there then came the sound of metal hitting bone. The last thing the stunned clone saw was a kunai falling into Elaine's outstretched hand from a newly acquired hole in his forehead. The clone dissolved into water.

"Hey! Are you alright, Elaine?" called the kunai's blond owner while waving frantically.

"Yes, I'm fine! Thanks, Naruto!" replied Elaine while waving back to prove her point.

Quickly Elaine spun around and hurled her new found weapon at Domino's assailant. However, unlike it's brethren, the imitation snagged the flying knife in midair. The clone glared wrathfully at Elaine, then turned back around with the intention of disabling his original target. Naturally the clone was livid upon finding Sasuke standing protectively in front of Domino while Tazuna was trying to help her retreat to safety.

"Damn you!" cried the clone.

Unable to run due to it's injury, the clone opted instead to inflect as much damage as possible on the twerp's smug face. Sasuke rushed the clone with a beheading high kick. The clone easily caught the boy's foot and twirled into a spin. With a roar, the clone sent Sasuke off on a free flying lesson towards Tazuna. The old man braced himself for impact but found himself being shoved aside by Domino. She too then dove out of range of the human cannonball. With no obstacles in his way, Sasuke managed to skid to a halt on his hands and feet once his decent slowed enough. Quickly Sasuke flashed through some hand seals.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" bellowed the Uchiha after the last seal had been formed.

"Noo!" cried the clone upon seeing the tiger seal.

With a deep breath of air, Sasuke shot a jet of flame at the replica. The clone howled in pain for several long seconds before vanishing in a cloud of vapor. With that dealt with, Sasuke, Tazuna and Domino waited patiently for the others to regroup with them.

"Are you alright, Domino?" asked Elaine the moment she was in range of her best friend.

Domino nodded weakly in response before attempting a strained smile.

"Guess I overdid it this time huh?" she chuckled.

"You sure did, baka," replied Elaine with a laugh then she embraced her friend.

The group also laughed to help ease some of the tension. The mood quickly turned dark again at Sasuke's next statement.

"We shouldn't relax just yet. There are still three more of those things out there. As we are now, it's in our best interest to formulate a plan," declared the Uchiha while surveying their surroundings.

"Sasuke-kun's right, everyone is either captured or exhausted and I don't think those creeps will fall for our tricks much longer," chimed in Sakura.

"Ok, here's a brief recap of our current situation," said Elaine after releasing Domino. "Kakashi and Genmaru are both sealed and won't be of much use to us as they are. Domino's chakra is on rock bottom from overuse of her techniques. So for now we only have four capable fighters. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and myself. One of us will need to protect Tazuna and Domino."

"I'll do it," volunteered Sakura before anyone could speak.

Upon seeing the determination in her eyes, no one had the heart to refuse her.

"Alright, they're in your hands," said Sasuke grimly.

Sakura's face turned crimson for a moment, then she nodded her understanding. Sakura withdrew a kunai from her pouch and stood protectively in front of Tazuna and Domino, who was also holding a kunai.

"I may not have much chakra left but I can still help protect Tazuna-san," declared Domino.

Everyone nodded in approval.

"Alright now our main concern should be freeing the others from the Hydro Prisons," declared Sasuke.

"Indeed, but it'll be a lot easier if this mist weren't around. It'll be hard to find Genmaru with things as they are," interjected Elaine.

Everyone grew thoughtful at that. Before long Naruto as if struck by sudden inspiration spoke up.

"Hey guys, how many exploding tags do you have on you?" asked the blond excitedly.

Everyone stared at Naruto in a quizzical fashion.

"What good will exploding notes do us, Naruto?" asked Sakura with everyone's exact thoughts.

"I have a plan, quick give them to me," ordered Naruto urgently.

The group complied to Naruto's wishes. Immediately, the orange clad ninja formed a hand seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried spawning a single shadow clone. "Elaine, on my signal I need you to use the Sea Dragon Wave again. Do you think you'll be able to absorb most of the mist into the technique?" asked the two Narutos in unison.

Elaine's expression grew thoughtful.

"I'll try but I don't think I can use all of the mist. Also, if I do this most of my chakra will be gone," replied Elaine.

"It's ok, the end results will more than make up for it," said one of the Narutos with a grin.

"Yeah, alright, I trust you Naruto," said Elaine with a serene smile.

"Come back alive or I'll never forgive you," added Sakura with worried eyes.

Both Narutos flashed the thumbs up sign with twin grins before dashing into the mist…

* * *

Once Naruto was out of sight, Elaine turned towards the group.

"You guys stay behind me, I'm going to start the technique now," she said.

The others nodded and backed away to give Elaine some room. Elaine turned back in the direction Naruto vanished in and begun to perform hand seals.

"_I hope this works,_" mused Elaine when the last seal was formed. "Suiton, Kairyuu Ha!!" she bellowed.

Instantly, the mist begun slowly condensing into a growing sphere of water. Within seconds, the slowly growing sphere had become as big as Naruto was tall. Elaine begun to tremble from the strain but she still continued to absorb the thinning mist.

"_Not yet, I need more!_" thought Elaine desperately.

The sphere grew bigger and the accumulating mist, thinner.

"Over there! I can see Naruto!" cried Sakura happily.

Sure enough, an outline of Naruto's frame became visible some fifteen feet away.

"Hah, it's working!" said Tazuna with a rare smile.

Suddenly Elaine stumbled.

"Elaine! Are you…?" cried out Sakura in alarm.

Sakura begun to trot towards her blue haired friend.

"Stay back!" cried Elaine harshly.

Sakura paused with a worried frown while Elaine stood upright again. She glanced over her shoulder with pained tears in the corner of her eyes. Elaine was also sporting a nosebleed.

"I have to do this," she said quietly before returning her focus on her technique.

Reluctantly, Sakura back away to the others.

"Elaine…" she whispered sadly.

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned towards the owner to find Sasuke standing next to her. His eyes bore intently into hers for a moment, then he turned his attention back towards Elaine.

"It's up to them now," said Sasuke quietly.

"_Sasuke-kun…_" thought the pink haired girl before she too watch on at the unfolding events of their first battle…

* * *

"_Alright! The plan is working so far!_" thought Naruto with a smirk as visibility gradually heightened.

He then gave a silent nod to his doppelganger who nodded back with a mischievous grin before dashing ahead.

"_It's all up to us now._"

Naruto spared a glance behind him to see how the others were faring.

"Whoo, that's a big ball of water!" exclaimed Naruto loudly.

The water ball in question was now almost thirty feet tall and still growing. He then saw Elaine sink to her knees as if an enormous weight had been put on her.

"_Damn it! Hang in there Elaine, my half of the plan isn't ready yet!_" Naruto grimaced. "What the hell is taking him so long!" cried Naruto as he turned to look for his look alike.

The blond was graced instead with the sight of one of the water clones standing directly next to him. Instinctively, Naruto leaped back a few feet. He growled at the clone who had made no move of pursuit.

"I could've killed you three times over in the time it took you to notice me," drawled the clone.

Naruto didn't respond.

"Oh? So that's what you kids have been plotting," said the clone after noticing the water ball for the first time.

"_Oh man what do I do now, it's still not ready yet!_"

Naruto glowered at the clone then he suddenly he smashed a pair of pellets, that he withdrew from his pocket, to the ground. Upon contact, they erupted into a thick veil of smoke. The water clone shielded his eyes in the wake of the cloud of pepper. With Zabuza distracted, Naruto took to the air with a high jump while producing a kunai with one of the exploding notes secured to the knife's ring.

"Eat this!" roared Naruto while rearing back his arm for a toss.

The clone glance up in surprise and his eyes grew wide upon seeing the exploding tag. Naruto hurled the rigged knife at the clone. With a grunt of annoyance, the imitation hurled his own sword at the flying note like a boomerang. The two deadly projectiles exploded on contact and the destructive power of the explosion caused both fighters to fly backwards. They both skidded to a halt several feet apart from each other. The water clone's sword landed blade first into the ground directly between them where it sank several feet. The sword was still smoking from the explosion.

"_This brat…_" thought the clone with a glare.

"_Crap! I don't know how much longer I can stall him!_" mused Naruto desperately.

For several long moments, neither of the two fighters moved. Then as if propelled by some unheard signal, they both dashed towards the wielder less sword. Zabuza reached it first and with a loud cry, he easily freed the blade. However, before the clone could swing it Naruto attacked with a leaping snap kick. Zabuza staggered back from the blow but overall he seemed unharmed. Blinded with rage, the clone charged at Naruto who braced himself for the for coming blow. Then, oddly enough, Naruto smirked.

"Now, Elaine!" cried Naruto.

"Right!" replied Elaine.

Immediately, the now fifty feet tall sphere of water begun to morph. Everyone looked on in awe as the attack that slaughtered fifteen clones in one swoop took on the shape of a giant dragon made purely out of water! The beast roared so loudly that dozens of bird flocks fled from the trees. Then it turned it furious gaze upon the miniature forms of Naruto and Zabuza.

"What's this?!" exclaimed the Zabuza clone in shock.

"_The technique's effect must differ depending on the amount of water it absorbs!_" realized the blond in equal awe.

The watery beast took a lumbering step towards Zabuza and Naruto with hungry eyes. Realizing that it was outmatched, the water clone glared hatefully at Naruto who still hadn't looked away from the giant beast. With a yell, Zabuza charged at the blond. Naruto's mouth dropped open in surprise before he got cleaved cleanly in half by the tan clone's sword.

"_I win!!_" thought the clone ecstatically.

It was short lived however. The apparently slain Naruto then went up in a poof of smoke.

"A Shadow Replication!?" exclaimed the clone.

The dragon roared once more, drawing Zabuza's attention back to it. The beast then gathered a large ball of water in it's mouth. It fired this ball at the clone who leaped out of the way. Still, the wave of water that followed the blast's impact easily sweep the clone off of it's feet. The colossal water dragon then raised a massive paw which it smashed down on the spot were Zabuza had been laying before. He had already rolled out of the way of the attack, but still got sent flying from the shockwave that followed the beast's impact point. The clone rolled into a crouch and rapidly begun forming hand seals. But before the desperate clone could finish preparing it's counterattack, the dragon's head lunged forward with wide snapping jaws.

"Damn it!" roared Zabuza while taking to the air with a high jump.

The beast swiveled it's head to glare hungrily at its' airborne prey. The clone then produced a bomb from its' pocket which it hurled at the powerful monster's face. It exploded on impact and the detonation resulted in a large hole near the creature's snout. However, the wound regenerated erasing any trace that the beast had even been harmed. It then roared in fury before lunging forward again. The clone released a short lived scream of horror before the beast bit into him. It swallowed the clone's torso first, then with a flick of it's head it hurled the clone's legs higher into the air before catching it in it's mouth like a potato chip. Once it's prey had been eaten, the dragon roared in triumph. The massive beast then swiveled it heads to gaze fondly at its' master who staggered towards it a bit with her right hand raised as if to praise the creature. Then Elaine swooned.

Quickly Tazuna rushed forward and caught her before she could hit the ground. The others gathered around to see if Elaine was alright. Elaine wearily opened her eyes and smiled at her worried friends before finally allowing the peaceful embrace of sleep to claim her. With no more chakra giving it substance, the giant dragon roared one last time before turning back into a large mass of water. A few seconds after that, Naruto arrived on the scene with excitement twinkling in his eyes.

"Alright the operation is ready to go in motion any ti…" Naruto paused upon seeing Elaine sound asleep in Tazuna's arms. "I…is she alright?" he asked quietly.

"She'll be fine, Elaine's just a bit worn out from that stunt she pulled with the Sea Dragon technique," answered Domino with a weary smile. "A bit of rest is all she needs."

"I'm glad," said Naruto quietly. "I could never forgive myself if anything happened to her."

He stared at the ground somberly.

"_Naruto…you're a really nice guy,_" thought Sakura sadly with a halfhearted smile.

Domino chuckled while wiping the trickle of blood away from Elaine's nose with a handkerchief.

"Elaine would be really pleased to hear you saying stuff like that," said Domino between laughter.

"I did hear it," said Elaine causing everyone to jump in surprise.

Her eyes were still closed but she now wore a happy smile paired with slightly flushed cheeks. She wearily opened her eyes to gaze fondly at Naruto. The blond flashed the thumbs up sign with a relieved smile.

"I'm glad you're alright," said Naruto.

"Ahem, I hate to interrupt a touching moment but what's this operation you were going on about Naruto?" cut in Sasuke impatiently.

Naruto never got to answer Sasuke's question. Unexpectedly, the remaining two Zabuzas appeared, out of thin air, near the group with Genmaru still imprisoned between them.

"You need not bother explaining your little plot brat. It wouldn't have worked anyway," drawled the clone emotionlessly while producing a fist full of the groups explosive notes.

Everyone gave a startled start.

"It was an impressive plan however," chimed in the other clone before the group could speak. "Your intentions was to have the blue haired brat over there thin the mist enough to be able to detect us. While she did this, the blond brat over there planted shadow clones in critical areas with explosive notes to act as suicide bombers once the mist had cleared. Prior to that you created another clone to try and distract us while you were doing this. Unfortunately for you, wiping out those clones was a simple task for my brethren here," explained the binder clone tersely.

For a moment there was deadly silence, then Naruto spoke.

"Looks like you caught me red handed," admitted the blond with a sheepish grin before his expression became serious. "But you know, this is only a minor handicap. You're still going down!!" he bellowed heatedly.

The clones laughed at this statement. Then the clone who wasn't binding Genmaru stepped forward.

"Here he comes guys! Be careful!" warned Genmaru.

Everyone tensed in preparation for the worst.

"You've caused me quite a bit of trouble, but in the end you are all still just a bunch of stupid kids," drawled the advancing clone.

Everyone begun to tremble in fury, but none as much as Naruto. Abruptly, he pointed at the clone.

"Hey jerk, put this in your Bingo book! The man who will become Hokage of Konohagakure one day is me, Uzumaki Naruto!" he declared with a ferocious grin.

Zabuza begun to tremble with rage.

"_Naruto…_" thought Kakashi with increased respect.

"_Ho ho, he looked so unreliable when I first saw him and yet_…" thought Tazuna in admiration.

"Sasuke, lend me your ear for a second," requested Naruto with his mischievous grin in place.

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Sasuke.

"I have a plan," replied the blond.

"_He came up with another plan in this situation? That's pretty good for you, Naruto,_" thought Sasuke in semi amusement. "I can't believe you want to work as a team, what's this plan of yours?"

"To die that's what!" roared the clone while rushing at the group.

Unexpectedly, Sakura and Domino counter charged the clone.

"We'll try to buy you some time, Naruto! Tell Sasuke the plan quickly!" cried Sakura over her shoulders as she dashed towards the angry clone.

Not one to let a chance slip through his fingers, Naruto hurriedly begun to tell Sasuke the details of his plan…

Domino, who was in the lead of the counter charge, deftly somersaulted over Zabuza's initial swing. Allowing gravity to seize her, she lashed out with a vicious overhead kick. Zabuza blocked the blow with his forearm and proceeded to try and ram his knee into Domino's exposed stomach. Domino quickly brought her own knee up to block the attack, but her leg was still jolted with pain from the blow. Sakura then appeared and attempted to sweep the clone's legs from under him. The clone hopped over the move and reached behind him for his sword. Just as he was about to swing the blade down on Sakura's leg, Domino took hold of Zabuza's arm. She then put the clone in a headlock using her legs. Immediately, Domino tightened the chokehold putting pressure on sensitive nerves in Zabuza's neck. The clone was totally paralyzed!

Sakura took advantage of this and begun raining a barrage of punches in the clone's midsection. In a suddenly display of pure power however, Zabuza slowly begun reaching his free arm towards Domino's throat. The momentarily startled black haired girl quickly increased the amount of pressure on the clone's nerves causing his groping hand to come to a halt. Zabuza screamed in frustration and tried again with even more strength than before.

"Damn you! Just give it up already!" cried Domino while again increasing pressure. "_How much strength does this guy have?! I won't be able to hold him much longer at this rate!_"

Sakura, who had been startled by Zabuza's enraged scream, had ceased attacking to fearfully back away.

"_I can't beat a guy like this!_" thought Sakura in fright.

Zabuza's face had begun to change to a shade of crimson from the pressure Domino was putting on him, but he still continued to inch his hand towards her throat. He grunted with each small move his hand made. Domino's leg muscles were beginning to protest from the strain of her chokehold.

"NOT YET!!" she wailed as she increased the pressure even more.

By this point both warriors were screaming as they willed their straining muscles to turn the tables on their respective opponent. Zabuza's face begun to turn purple but his hand still continued to advance.

"_Just a little more!_" thought the struggling clone.

An eternity seemed to go by, then finally Domino's leg muscles gave out.

"DAMN!" she cried before Zabuza's hand latched onto her throat.

Zabuza then held Domino's struggling body in front of him while gasping for breath. He glared at the lavender eyed girl in a way that promised death before rearing back the arm that was holding her. With a bellow of fury, he hurled her towards a nearby tree head first. Domino was just about to hit when Naruto suddenly tackled her in midair. The two rolled on the ground for a few feet before coming to a stop. Sasuke appeared and stood protectively in front of them.

"Are you alright?" asked Naruto while wincing in pain from the landing.

"Y-yeah…I'm f-fine," replied the shaken up Domino between coughs.

Sakura and Tazuna then stood on either side of them while Naruto climbed to his feet.

"Good, you guys can leave the rest to Sasuke and me," declared Naruto while glaring at the livid looking clone.

"Naruto…thank you," whispered Domino.

* * *

"Prepare yourself cause we're gonna go wild now!" cried Naruto.

The clone chuckled.

"You seem confident enough, but do you even have a chance of winning without your little friends? You sure don't learn do you?" taunted the clone. "If you insist on pretending to be ninja then I think it's time you learned a fun fact. Back when I was your age, my hands had already been soaked in blood. At that time I was known as the Demon of the Mist."

Everyone grew a bit paler at this bit of news.

"Here's a history lesson for you. A long time ago, Kirigakure used to be known as the Hidden Village of the Bloody Mist. For my Genin exam, a certain test was required to be taken before one could become a ninja."

"What test was that?" asked Naruto curiously.

Zabuza laughed.

"Simply put, the students were required to kill each other."

Naruto gasped in horror.

"That's right, friends who dined together, shared their dreams, and helped each other were forced to battle each other to the death."

"That's awful," said Sakura quietly.

"Maybe so, but you'll be please to know that ten years ago the exam was discontinued as the result of a monster. This monster slaughtered over one-hundred students just for the joy of it," Zabuza paused to blissfully close his eyes. "Ah, that was fun," he said before suddenly glaring at the group in a maniacal fashion.

In a flash, the clone had smashed his elbow into Sasuke's stomach. This caused him to fly backwards several feet. Sasuke had no sooner landed on his back before Zabuza pile drove his fist into his gut. Blood spewed forth from the black haired boy's mouth which stifled his cry of pain. Not one to let up on a good beating, Zabuza stomped heavily on Sasuke's protesting stomach while grinding his heel in for good measure.

"Sasuke-kun!" wailed Sakura

"_Damn this guy. If I ever get out of here…_" thought Kakashi angrily as he looked on upon the chaotic scene.

"You may die now," drawled Zabuza as he grasped the hilt of his sword.

"Damn you!" screamed Naruto from somewhere behind Zabuza. "Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clearing immediately filled with Narutos drawing an impressed whistle from Zabuza.

"The Shadow Replication eh? And by the looks of it there seems to be quite a few of you. Fifty by my count."

All of the Narutos withdrew kunai from their pouches.

"Here I come!" they cried in unison.

In a flash they all dog piled the sword wielding clone, effectively burying him. At first it seemed like the Narutos had overwhelmed him. Then in a amazing display of power, Zabuza managed to toss all of the clones off of his back which resulted in Narutos flying in every direction. As the replications hit the ground, they disappeared in clouds of smoke.

"No way, you can't beat a guy like that!" yelled Tazuna in shock.

The last Naruto managed to skid to a halt before he tossed a fan like object towards Sasuke, who deftly caught it. Sasuke's eyes widen for a moment then he nodded at the blond. With a flick of his wrist, the object Naruto gave Sasuke unfolded into what looked like a really big shuriken.

"Behold the Shadow Windmill, Fuuma Shuriken!" introduced Sasuke darkly.

Zabuza look more bored than worried.

"Sorry brat, but a shuriken won't work on me," declared the clone.

Rather than reply, Sasuke leaped into the air and begun to spin. Once he build up enough momentum, he hurled the massive star at the clone. The water clone made no effort to get out of the way, but became instantly confuse when the star sailed harmlessly pass. It turned out, that the star was on a collision course with the real Zabuza.

"Oh? So you're going after the real one this time, but it's still to easy for me," he declared while snagging the massive star in midair with his free hand.

Suddenly another star appeared out of thin air.

"_Crap, this one must've been hidden in the shadow of the other shuriken!_" thought Zabuza. "But it's still too easy for me!" he cried while hopping over the second star.

But instead of the frustrated reaction he was expecting, Naruto and Sasuke merely smirked.

"This is it!" yelled a familiar voice from behind Zabuza.

He looked over his shoulder with wide eyes to find another Naruto emerging from a cloud of smoke where the shuriken should have been. Quickly this Naruto hurled a kunai at Zabuza's arm.

"_Damn this brat, I have to move!_" thought Zabuza angrily.

He quickly removed his arm from the Hydro Prison causing the flying knife to sail harmlessly pass. However, as a consequence, it also resulted in the dispelling of both the Hydro Prison and his two water clones.

"Damn kid!" Zabuza bellowed in rage while rotating the massive shuriken.

Naruto fell with a splash into the lake, but he knew that the moment he came up for air Zabuza would strike. Unable to hold his breath for long however, he had no choice but to surface. Zabuza was just about to hurl the spinning star at the blond when suddenly there came the sound of metal hitting metal. Zabuza's eyes widen in terror at the sight of Kakashi blocking the oversized star with the metal plate on his gauntlets…

* * *

"Sensei!" cried Sakura in delight at seeing her teacher freed from the watery ball.

"Naruto, your plan was impressive. You and everyone here have done very well," said Kakashi proudly while keeping a wary eye on Zabuza.

"Looks like the distraction was a success!" said Naruto with a laugh. "I used the Shadow Replication technique to hide the fact that I had transformed into the Fuuma Shuriken. After that it was all a matter of having one of my clones pass me and another Fuuma Shuriken to Sasuke. He knew it was me the moment he caught me. All that was left then was just to get me close enough to you guys to break you out of that technique!"

"Hell yeah!" cried the other Naruto before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

"Heh, we just got lucky," said Sasuke with a satisfied smirk.

"You call that luck!?" cried Tazuna. "That was ruddy brilliant!"

"_To pull off teamwork in such a situation…amazing!_" thought Sakura in awe.

"Bah, I just lost myself and canceled the prison by mistake," grumbled Zabuza.

"No you didn't, you were forced to," resorted Kakashi with a glare. "Now prepare yourself, that technique won't work on me a second time."

"Nor on me," added Genmaru while shaking water out of his hair.

Zabuza grunted in irritation at the truth of it all. He then glared hatefully at Kakashi. The tension that followed was extreme. Warily the others surrounded Tazuna in another protective circle, while Naruto tried his best to get back to shore unnoticed. For a few moments all was still, then Zabuza's eyebrow twitched.

"_Shoot!_" thought Kakashi as a sharp pain jolted his hand.

Zabuza had flipped a switch on the giant star causing it to revert into a scythe like weapon directly on Kakashi's hand. With a grunt of pain, Kakashi knocked the weapon away where it sailed harmlessly into the air. Immediately the two titans leaped a few feet away from each other in opposite directions. Zabuza touched down first and begun to rapidly perform several hand seals while chanting the name of each one as he went. Not one to be bested, Kakashi also begun to perform the same seals at an even faster pace than Zabuza. Before long, the two ninjas were moving in perfect harmony.

"_Is he…_" thought Genmaru while carefully observing each move the two Jounin made.

"_What's going on? They're moving the same way!_" realized Naruto.

By this point, the very lake begun to churn causing Naruto to bob this way and that like he was caught in a spin cycle. Finally the last seal was formed.

"Bird!" they cried with their index, pinky and thumb lightly touching. Their middle and led fingers were curled in the center of this pyramid. "Suiton, Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

If Naruto was being tossed about before, he was really reeling now. The water violently churned until two giant sea serpents made purely out of water rose to the surface. The watery beasts begun to intertwine in some sort of graceful dance before they ferociously attacked each other. The moment the beasts clashed, the lake erupted into a tidal wave that both submerged Naruto and knocked the others off their feet.

Sasuke recovered first and gazed on in awe at the sight of the battling sea monsters.

"_Amazing, Sensei formed that many seals in just a few seconds and pulled off the Water Dragon Bullet technique at the same time he did,_" thought the Uchiha with a jealously impressed smirk.

Naruto abruptly surfaced with a loud gasp for air.

"_God damn! I'm gonna be water logged at this rate!_" thought the blond heatedly.

His eyes then widened in surprise upon spying Kakashi and Zabuza locked in a standoff directly in front of him. Kakashi and Zabuza were pushing each other back in forth using nothing but a kunai and the tan ninja's massive sword. The clashing dragons smashed into each other one last time before exploding in a rain of water around the deadlocked ninjas.

"_This guy…how did he do that?_" thought Zabuza with a grunt. "_The Sharingan is only suppose to memorized techniques and copy them. Yet, he executed my move at the exact same time I did?!_"

The two fighters remained in a stalemate for a few more moments before they finally leaped back, breaking the lock. They paused to seek out an opening in each others defense, then strangely enough they circled each other in the exact same way. In an attempt to confuse Kakashi, Zabuza came to a sudden halt which the gray haired ninja mirrored perfectly without faltering. Zabuza grunted in annoyance while shifting his pose for the Hidden Mist technique. Like before Kakashi copied him down to the exact foot fall.

"Whoa! He's moving just like him and with perfect timing!" observed Tazuna who was still floored from the tidal wave.

"What's going on Sasuke-kun?" asked a baffled Sakura.

Sasuke didn't seem to hear her as he gazed intently at the battle at hand.

"The Sharingan…Kakashi is using it to predict Zabuza's every move." answered Genmaru absently.

"_Curse him! My movements are being perfectly_…" he begun while shifting his skyward arm.

"Predicted by him," finished Kakashi for Zabuza while copying the move.

"_What? He read what I was going to say in my mind?_" thought Zabuza with wide eyes that were being probed by Kakashi's cold ones. "_Damn it, this guy_…" he formed a diamond with his hands.

"Has such unpleasant eyes, right?" cut in Kakashi again while mirroring the move.

"Heh, all you're doing is copying! Nothing original!" fumed Zabuza.

"You can't beat me, you monkey!" they both said as one.

"I'll make it so that you never open that copycat mouth of yours again!" bellowed an enraged Zabuza while flashing through a series of hand seals in which Kakashi proceed to copy.

Suddenly Zabuza's eyes widen in disbelief.

"_What was that?_" thought Zabuza.

Standing directly next to Kakashi was a very familiar looking shadow that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The shadow soon begun to gain substance.

"_Are my eyes playing tricks on me or am I really looking at myself?_" thought Zabuza in bewilderment. "_Impossible! It's got to be an illusion!_"

"Suiton, Daibakufu no Jutsu!" cried Kakashi suddenly.

"What!" cried a stupefied Zabuza.

The lake water once again violently churned battering Naruto about like a rag doll. A giant donut of water appeared in front of Kakashi that grew bigger with each passing second. It soon became an enormous ball of pure water. With a powerful spray, it rocketed towards Zabuza.

"_No! He performed the Grand Waterfall technique before me?!_" was Zabuza's last thought before he was swept away by the massive wave of lake water.

The resulting tidal wave very nearly swept the others away as well. Fortunately, they all took to the tree tops with Tazuna on Genmaru's back and Sasuke carrying Elaine before it came to that. Naruto, who was being dragged into the currents, took hold of a low hanging tree branch just in time. After a few minutes, the water grew calm again. Naruto and the others spotted Zabuza forty meters away crumpled against a large tree that caught his fall. Kakashi then appeared on a tree branch directly above Zabuza.

"_Dammit, I can't move!_" thought Zabuza exhaustedly.

"Look like this is the end," said Kakashi quietly.

Zabuza weakly look up towards Kakashi's perch.

"How? Can you see the future?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied the gray haired ninja. "You're going to die now," he drew a kunai from his pouch.

Kakashi suddenly caught sight of a glint out the corner of his eye. Zabuza shuddered before slumping forward to the ground with two Senbon extending from his neck. The tan ninja didn't seem to be breathing.

"_Who?_" thought Kakashi while searching for the death weapon's owner.

Suddenly, everyone heard a laugh.

"It's true, he was going to die," came a voice from a nearby tree.

The voice belonged to a youthful looking guy with green finger and toenails. The guy was wearing a yellow and green robe with a pair of tan shorts. He had long black hair with what looked like a bun wrapped in yellow cloth. The guy's most interesting feature was a ominous looking white mask with red designs decorating the surface.

Kakashi leaped from his perch in his tree to check Zabuza's body for any vital signs. When he failed to find a pulse, he raised his hands in a respectful prayer.

"He really is dead, guys," he said quietly while turning his attention on the newcomer.

The tense silence that followed this statement was uncanny. None knew quite what to say to someone who managed to kill such a powerful opponent so easily.

"Thank you very much," said the stranger with a respectful bow to the group. "I was looking for a chance to kill Zabuza while you guys were fighting."

"That mask you wear…if I remember correctly, you must be a hunter ninja from Kirigakure," observed Kakashi.

"You are very well informed," confirmed the masked stranger quietly.

"Hunter ninja?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"You don't even know what a Hunter ninja is?" said a surprised Sakura. "Hunter ninjas are those who assassinate exiled ninjas who for some reason turn against the village they were born in. This is done to protect secret techniques and abilities from the village they hail from. You should have learned about them in the academy."

"Correct, I'm a member of the ninja unit that hunts exiled ninjas," confirmed the stranger again.

"_Judging from his height and voice, he's not much different from Naruto and the others. He's no ordinary kid if he's a Hunter ninja_," thought Kakashi.

Naruto suddenly ran forward.

"Who the hell are you!?" he demanded heatedly.

"Calm yourself Naruto, he's no enemy," ordered Kakashi.

"That's not what I'm asking!" he shot back. "Zabuza was killed so easily by someone who doesn't look any different from me! This guy made us look like idiots! I can't accept that!" he cried before letting his shoulders slump in defeat.

Kakashi approached his anguish filled student.

"I know it's difficult to believe, but you should understand that there are people out there who are younger than you and stronger than me. Thus is the reality of the world," explained Kakashi sympathetically.

Naruto didn't respond to this but opted instead to glare at the kid who wounded his pride. Abruptly, the masked ninja vanished in a gust of wind. He reappeared a split second later crouched next to Zabuza, whose arm he slung over his shoulder. He then stood up to his full height and glanced at everyone in the group before speaking.

"Your battle ends here for now. If you'll excuse me, I must dispose of this corpse now. It's now a body filled with secrets. Farewell," he said before vanishing in another gust of wind with Zabuza's body.

With a wary sigh, Kakashi re-covered his Sharingan eye with his forehead protector.

"Guess he's gone now, I don't sense his presence here," said Genmaru while looking around.

With a huff, Naruto shank to his knees and begun to mercilessly beat the ground with his bare hands.

"What the…hell was…that!?" he bellowed between each blow.

"Naruto…" said Sakura sadly, mirroring the thoughts of everyone.

"Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn!" Naruto wailed.

Naruto was losted in a haze of anger that lessened with each blow he landed on the ground. Finally Kakashi grasped his fist in midswing.

"These things happen when you are a ninja. Use it as an inspiration to become better," said the gray haired ninja before releasing him.

Finally, with nothing but empty sadness left in his heart Naruto withdrew into his thoughts. Kakashi then turned back to the others.

"Our mission isn't done yet, we'll need to escort Tazuna-san home now," he announced.

Everyone nodded in understanding except for the subdued Naruto. To ease the mood, Tazuna broke into laughter.

"Sorry about that guys, but to make it up to you, you're welcome to relax at my place!" he declared with a grin.

"That sounds great, Tazuna-san!" said Sakura with a smile.

"I'll cook dinner tonight if you'll let me," added Genmaru also with a smile.

"Sure, no problem sonny. It'll be a load off my daughter's shoulders," replied Tazuna with a laugh.

"A good nights rest and Genmaru's cooking, count me in!" piped up Elaine with a touch of her old vigor.

"Yay cakes and goodies!" cheered Domino while jumping up and down excitedly.

Sasuke merely smirked.

"Alright guys, lets go," ordered Kakashi before turning towards the path.

Kakashi had taken no more than two steps before collapsing in a heap.

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Naruto while dashing forward to see if he was alright.

The gray haired ninja's breathing was becoming shallow and he was clearly unconscious.

"What happened? What's wrong with him?" cried Sakura worriedly.

"I don't know, he just…Oh god! Kakashi-sensei wake up, open your eyes!" begged Naruto in dismay. "Kakashi-sensei!" he wailed.

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo everyone! This is Aninene speaking as you most likely already know. First off I would like to apologize for the massive delay. I was involved in a car accident due to some party animal who decided that drinking and driving was a good idea. Because of him I ended up hospitalized for awhile. I think I was in a coma for about three weeks or so, not that I could tell. Anyway, my wrist got fractured in the crash so I won't be able to type as fast as usual for quite awhile. Updates between chapters might take longer too.

Any way, enough of the dreary rambling. I'm proud to say that this is the longest chapter that I have written yet. This should've keep you guys entertained for a while. :) I had a lot of fun messing around with the bath scene and the clone army was really fun to toy with! By show of hands, how many people pictured themselves as the water dragon when it ate Zabuza like a cheeto? (raises own hand) My editor begged me to put that in there, a sign that she really loves her chips.

Alright we have a review! Sure it's only one but hey it's a start. Ok let's get cracking!

CodeKyuubi: I hear it and I like what you're saying. It was my intention all along to let Elaine's hair grow out later on in the fic, but after hearing your view on it I have to admit that it does lack the feminine feel I wanted. Especially if it looks that much like Naruto's hair. Some rapid growing is in order. (Not too rapid of course :P)

I'm pretty sure that team Gai was never assigned a number. Maybe at some later point in the anime/manga it'll clear that up. But until then, I'll most likely just refer to them as team Gai during the fic. Then again, I like the sound of team weird too. XD

I carefully considered every possible angle and reason for pairing Elaine and Naruto. As it turned out, the later chapters seem to flow better in favor of the idea so a pairing has just become unavoidable. That and my editor promised I would suffer her cold wrath if I didn't pair them. (sweat drop) However, it won't be until many chapters later before I really act on the idea. So for the moment, I'm just planting the seeds of an eventual romantic. Did you notice the way Sakura took it when Elaine admitted her developing feelings for Naruto? Major foreshadowing in that scene. :)

Ok guys and gals, it time for everybody's favorite part! The disclaimer!! (Gets pelted with rotten tomatoes) I was just kidding guys, no need to turn me into salad.

As usual I do not, have not, and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything else belongs to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto. All hail Kishimoto!!

Lastly, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 70/100 after fighting Zabuza.

Sakura - E Rank with a Focus Gauge of 20/100 after fighting Zabuza.

Sasuke - D Rank with a Focus Gauge of 80/100 after fighting Zabuza.

Genmaru - C Rank with a Focus Gauge of 30/100 after fighting Zabuza.

Elaine - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using her Limit Break.

Domino - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 10/100 after using her Limit Break.

Domino - C Rank when wearing armor.

Kakashi - B Rank with a Focus Gauge of 80/100 after fighting Zabuza.

Kakashi - B Plus Rank when using Sharingan.

Demon Brothers - C Minus Rank.

Water Clones - C Minus Rank.

Zabuza - B Rank.

Naruto prepares to reveal a new strength in the next chapter. Look forward to it, it's going to have a major effect on later chapters in the fic. Til next time, laters!!


	6. The Assassins of the Mist! part 2

**My Precious Friends are my Power!**

**The Assassins of the Mist!**

Kakashi awakened to the loud squawking of seagulls.

"_Where?_" thought the gray haired ninja groggily while surveying his surroundings.

Kakashi found himself in a modest sized living room of some sort. He was laying in a makeshift bed directly in the center of the floor. The room was sparsely furnished save for a dresser and some vases. But the room's most alluring feature was the rich aroma of the evening meal being prepared.

"I must've used my Sharingan too much. How long have I been sleeping?" murmured Kakashi to no one in particular.

At that moment, a pretty woman entered the room. The woman had long purple hair and black eyes. She was clad in a pink blouse with red sleeves as well as a dark purple colored skirt. The fact that she was barefooted confirmed Kakashi suspicions that the woman was a resident here. Her name was Tsunami.

"Ah, you're awake. Are you feeling okay, Sensei?" asked the woman with concern evident in her eyes.

"No, I'll barely be able to move for a week," replied Kakashi tiredly.

With a groan, Kakashi rose to a sitting position.

"If that's the case, you shouldn't move around too much," suggested Tsunami while placing her hands on her hips.

"Yeah," agreed the gray haired ninja quietly.

Tsunami nodded in approval before directing her attention towards the sound of approaching footsteps. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Tazuna and Domino entered the room.

"Sensei! You're awake!" cried Naruto in delight.

Everyone sat down around the bedridden ninja.

"Yeah, I'm just a little weary that's all," said Kakashi.

"We were worried when you collapsed Kakashi-sensei. Elaine reckons that overuse of the Sharingan put a lot of strain on your body," relayed Sakura.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you guys," said Kakashi with a apologetic glance.

"Don't worry about it, after all you were able to defeat such a powerful enemy using that eye. Thanks to you we should be safe for a while now," waved off Tazuna with a kindly smile.

"I see…how is Elaine?" asked Kakashi.

"Ah she's just fine, Sensei. Right now she's resting in the next room but she says that she'll be as good as new in the morning," answered Sakura.

"That stunt she pulled really turned the tides for us though. Still, I'm gonna chew her out if she ever scares me like that again," declared Domino with a grin.

Kakashi begun to relax.

"That's a relief, I'm glad that she's okay," he sniffed the air. "Judging by that appetizing smell, I'm guessing that Genmaru is preparing lunch?" asked Kakashi.

"You've guessed right, Genmaru is making honey glazed yakitori!" reported Domino with a laugh.

"Yum, grilled chicken kabobs sounds awesome after all that fighting we did!" declared Naruto while licking his lips hungrily.

Everyone nodded their agreement.

"Speaking of the earlier events from this morning, I wonder who that boy with the mask was?" pondered Sakura aloud with a thoughtful frown.

"He had the mask of a hunter ninja from Kirigakure's ANBU squad," supplied Kakashi absently.

"Hunter ninja?" echoed Naruto with a puzzled frown.

"Yeah, their job is to erase any evidence that an exiled ninja was ever alive. This must be done to protect the village's secret techniques and abilities that could potentially be stolen from a ninja's body. For instance, if I were to die, the secrets of the Sharingan could be studied and in the worse case scenario all of my techniques including the Sharingan would be stolen," explained Kakashi darkly.

Everyone stiffened as if a chilled wind had penetrated the room. Kakashi begun to rub his temples in silent contemplation.

"What's wrong, Sensei?" asked Tsunami tranquilly, causing the feeling of unease to pass.

"Hm? Oh, about what I was saying before. Hunter ninjas are suppose to eliminate the target's corpse immediately after capture."

"Yeah and?" questioned Sakura curiously.

"What did the boy do with Zabuza?" quizzed Kakashi.

"We couldn't tell you Sensei, he did vanish with his body you know!" replied Sakura with a frown.

"Exactly," said Kakashi quietly. "As a hunter ninja, all he would've needed to do was return to his village with Zabuza's head. Also, the weapon he used to kill Zabuza is questionable."

"It was just a Senbon," said Sasuke before giving a start. "Could it be…"

"Yes, it's just what you're thinking," said Kakashi with a confirmative nod.

Everyone else wore expressions of confusion.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked a baffled Tazuna.

"Zabuza is still alive," answered Genmaru unexpectedly while waltzing into the room carrying a tray of food.

For the longest everyone was stunned into silence, then all chaos ensued.

"WHAT!?" cried Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna in unison.

"But that's impossible, Sensei! We all saw him get killed!" cried Naruto.

"Naruto's right, you even confirmed that he died, Sensei!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Indeed, I did confirm it," said Kakashi after a moment. "However, it is most likely that Zabuza was in a near death state. You see, the weapon used to subdue Zabuza has a low fatality rate unless it hits a critical spot. It was originally intended to be used for acupuncture healings after all," he explained with a shrug.

"If that's so, then how could a needle put someone in a near death state?" asked Naruto.

"Elaine could explain it better than I could, but the point of a Senbon is designed to probe nerves," answered Domino. "Depending on how said nerves are hit by a Senbon, it can disrupt or temporarily halt certain body functions. For instance, during the fight with Zabuza, Elaine used Senbon to paralyze one of the water clones we were fighting."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"You're correct and as hunter ninjas are well learned in the body's structure, it would be easy for them to put someone in a comatose state if they desired," confirmed Kakashi with a nod towards Domino. "We can safely assume that the masked kid's intentions were to assist Zabuza."

"How do you figure that?" asked Sakura.

"There are two clues that hint at this," supplied Genmaru calmly while handing Kakashi the platter he was carrying. "First of all, he took Zabuza's body even though it was obviously heavier than him. Pair that with the almost nonfatal weapon he used and there can be no doubt that he was an accomplice of Zabuza's."

"Exactly," agreed Kakashi while nodding his thanks towards Genmaru for the meal.

"It does seem possible, but maybe you guys are over thinking it too much?" suggested Tazuna hopefully.

"No, once a ninja gets a feeling of danger, he must prepare for it before it's too late. It's an iron rule of survival," replied Kakashi simply while surveying everyone present.

Kakashi's probing eye paused on Naruto, who was visibly shaking with excitement.

"_Heh, he's happy to hear that Zabuza might be alive. I should've expected it from you, Naruto,_" mused Kakashi with an unseen smirk.

"Sensei, how are you going to prepare for this in your current condition?" asked Sakura.

Oddly enough the gray haired ninja chuckled, much to the group's confusion.

"I'm going to make you guys go through some training," said Kakashi after he calmed down.

Everyone perked up at the thought.

"Wait!" cried Sakura suddenly with a angry flush. "Even if we train, it's not going to be very helpful. I mean, the enemy is a guy that even you had trouble with, Sensei! _Are you trying to kill us!_" she silently thought her last statement.

"Tell me Sakura, who saved me when I had a difficult time?" asked Kakashi.

Instead of waiting for a response he continued.

"All of you are growing at a rapid rate," he paused to shift his gaze. "Especially you Naruto, you've grown the most," he continued with a masked smile.

The blond perked up proudly with a pleased grin.

"Whoo hoo! I knew you had it in you, Naruto!" praised Domino excitedly.

"I'm sure Elaine will be overjoyed to hear about this," added Genmaru with a warm smile.

Sasuke and Sakura merely stared at the blond.

"_He has gotten more reliable…_" thought Sakura.

"Hah, you sure know your stuff, Kakashi-sensei! Now things are getting interesting!" declared a beaming Naruto while rubbing his nose.

"No it's not," came an unknown voice from behind them.

Everyone turned towards the source to find a small boy standing in the doorway. The boy was wearing a pair of green overalls and a fading yellow T-shirt. The boy's dark brown hair was covered by a large white hat with blue stripes. His dark brown eyes were surveying the group with frosty seriousness.

"Hey, who are you?" questioned Naruto.

"Oh, Inari! Where were you?" greeted Tazuna warmly while spreading his arms for an embrace.

The kid called Inari rushed into Tazuna's arms.

"Hi grandpa, I was taking a walk through town," said Inari just as warmly, though his eyes still remained serious.

The two embraced for a moment, then Tsunami spoke.

"Inari, say hi to these people too. They're the ninjas who escorted grandpa home," she said with her hands on her hips.

Tazuna laughed.

"It's okay, right Inari?" kidded Tazuna while fondly stroking his grandson's head.

Instead of replying, Inari glared at the group. He then turned towards Tsunami.

"Mom, they're going to die. There's no way a person can win by going against Gatoh," said Inari abjectly.

The explosion that followed was extreme.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU BRAT!?" roared Naruto in fury.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Listen up, kid! I'm a super hero who's going to become a great ninja known as Hokage. I don't know who this Gatoh or Cooko is, but he doesn't stand a chance against me!" declared Naruto with a determined grin.

"Hero? What are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero!" countered Inari with a glare.

Naruto reeled back in outrage as if he had been slapped.

"Wha…WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" bellowed the blond while stepping menacingly towards the kid.

Instantly, Sakura held Naruto back.

"Stop it, Naruto!" wailed Sakura as the blond attempted to strangle the kid.

Inari glared at Naruto once more before striding to the door. He paused to look over his shoulder.

"If you don't want to die, you should all go home," warned Inari darkly.

"Hey where are you going, Inari?" asked Tazuna with a concerned frown.

"I'll go watch the ocean," replied Inari softly over his shoulder before exiting the room.

Once the boy vanished from sight, Tazuna turned to face the group with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about that guys," vouched the old man on his grandson's behalf.

Sakura then released Naruto who was still trembling with rage.

"Who does that guy think he is!?" growled Naruto heatedly.

"Calm down, Naruto!" ordered Kakashi.

"_Easy for you to say! The kid wasn't talking to you!_" thought Naruto before grumpily sitting down Indian style.

"Well, he was a real charmer," joked Domino. "Has he always been like that?"

"Alas, I'm afraid not, but if it's alright with you I'd rather not discuss it right now," replied Tazuna.

"Alright, we understand," said Genmaru cheerfully. "I need to go check on supper anyway. If you'll excuse me," he bowed while rising to leave the room.

"Wait, I'll come too. Maybe I'll pick up a few cooking tips," said Tazuna half-jokingly with a hearty laugh.

Genmaru laughed as well.

"Alright, I'll give you a few pointers," promised Genmaru amicably.

They then left the room together.

"Guess I'll set the table then," said Tsunami while also rising.

"Um, I'll help you if you like," piped up Sakura.

"Why thank you dear, that'll be a big help," replied Tsunami warmly.

With that said, both she and Sakura left the room together.

"I'm going to get some air," announced Sasuke quietly before he too left the room.

Once Sasuke vanished from sight, Domino stood up as well.

"I think I'll keep Elaine company until dinner. You should come too Naruto, she'll be delighted to see you," hinted Domino with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll be there in just a minute. There's something I need to take care of first," replied Naruto with a meaningful glance towards the stairs.

Domino caught the hint and with a nod of understanding, she left the room to visit her best friend. Naruto has just risen when Kakashi spoke up.

"Naruto, try not to be too hard on the kid. I'm sure he has his reasons for saying those things."

"Yeah, right…" said Naruto absently before leaving the room.

Kakashi sighed in resignation.

"I doubt if he heard a word I said," muttered Kakashi to himself before lowering his face mask to eat…

* * *

"Damn that brat! I need to tell him a thing or two!" grumbled Naruto while stomping upstairs to Inari's room.

As Naruto neared Inari's door, he heard what sounded like…

"_Crying?_" thought Naruto curiously.

Since the door was open a crack, Naruto peered through it. Inari was sitting on a dresser propped next to the window. Since the kid's back was turned, Naruto couldn't tell for certain but it looked like he was holding something. The boy's sobbing grew a little louder.

"_I shouldn't be here, I'll just tell the kid off later,_" thought Naruto with a slight feeling of guilt for witnessing such a scene.

The blond was just about to go back downstairs when he suddenly heard Inari speak. Instinctively, Naruto strained his ears towards the sound.

"Dad…why did you have to…" whimpered Inari before breaking down completely.

"_He's grieving,_" realized the blond while sadly staring at the floor.

As quietly as he could, Naruto shut the door and went back downstairs…

* * *

Naruto entered the guest room, which was furnished no differently than the living area, to find Domino and Elaine chatting animatedly. They ceased their chattering upon noticing Naruto. The blond was pleasantly pleased to see Elaine sitting upright again. Although she wasn't fully recovered, she seemed much more lively and energetic than before.

"Hey, Naruto!" greeted Elaine with a warm smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling, Elaine?" greeted Naruto back with a grin.

"Much better now, though I'm still a bit tired," replied Elaine.

"After what you tried to pull, you should be tired!" cried Domino with a glare.

Elaine sweat dropped while chuckling nervously.

"S-sorry!" she apologized sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it! As long as you're okay, that's all that matters!" declared Naruto with a warm smile.

He then sat down cross legged next to Elaine's makeshift bed.

"I was pretty worried about you back there," said Naruto with a slight flush, though he had no idea why he was flushing.

Elaine was momentarily startled, then she flushed as well. The heat in her face only intensified when Domino flashed her a wolf grin from over Naruto's shoulder.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry for worrying you, Naruto! But I feel fine now! Really I am!" stammered Elaine in embarrassment. "_Ooh, why does Domino have to make fun of me like that!?_" mused Elaine resentfully.

"No, I must apologize to you, Elaine. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have been bedridden in the first place. I'm sorry," overrode Naruto quietly.

At a lost for words, Elaine suddenly found the floor very interesting to look at. Domino snickered.

"My my, you guys are looking very colorful right now. Should I leave you two alone?" joked the lavender eyed girl.

Elaine glared at Domino while Naruto wore a confused look at first. Then as if struck by lightening, Naruto spoke with a flourish.

"Wait, it's not like that at all!" protested the blond with a tomato red face.

"Yeah sure!" said Domino disbelievingly with a smug grin on her face.

Naruto opened his mouth as if to protest again, but thought better of it.

"Say, what do you guys think about that masked guy we saw?" asked the blond a little too excitedly in an effort to change the subject.

Elaine jumped at the chance.

"Domino filled me in already. It does seem possible that he could be working for Zabuza," replied Elaine thoughtfully, though her cheeks were still crimson.

Conceding defeat, Domino joined in on the discussion as well.

"If he really is working for Zabuza, then he's a pretty good actor," pointed out Domino. "I was completely taken in by the story. If we meet him again, he better be pretty good looking under that mask or else I may just beat him up myself!"

Naruto and Elaine sweat dropped.

"Um, don't you already have a boyfriend?" asked Naruto with a funny expression on his face.

"What? I can at least check out the cute ones can't I?" joked Domino while winking in Naruto's direction. "You don't look so bad yourself, Naruto."

Naruto looked at Elaine as if to say 'Is she being serious?'

The blued haired girl merely shrugged.

"I can't tell myself half the time," she joked with an amused smile.

They all laughed…

* * *

Everybody was gathered at the dining room table for supper. Elaine had recovered enough to be able to walk short distances and easily made it to the table herself. Kakashi on the other hand had to use a pair of crutches that Tazuna lent him. Currently, everyone was feeding their faces with huge helpings of batter fried prawns, noodles with cheese and tempura. A large cinnamon crumb cake sat directly in the center of the table which Domino was eyeballing excitedly.

"This is amazing!" exclaimed Tazuna after the first mouthful. "Where did you learn to cook like this, Genmaru?"

The misty eyed ninja laughed.

"It's just something that my grandfather taught me. He's the only person I know who enjoys cooking more than I do!" replied Genmaru cheerfully.

"My gosh, I absolutely have to meet him one day!" said Tazuna sincerely while heartily stuffing his face.

"It's quite good. You and your grandfather must be very gifted when it comes to cooking," praised Tsunami.

"Thank you both for your kind word, but believe me, my cooking can't compete with grandpa's yet," said Genmaru with a modest laugh.

"But Genmaru's cakes taste way better. It's the one thing he takes great pride in!" gushed Domino while ogling the moist looking treat in the middle of the table.

"Hear hear!" confirmed Elaine with a laugh.

With cheery murmurs of agreement, everyone ate with gusto. Even Sasuke and Inari showed faint hints of smiles during the meal. Supper continued in this fashion and soon enough the group was rubbing their full bellies with content sighs.

"Hot diggity damn! I'm stuffed like a turkey!" declared Naruto with a huge grin.

"I think I'm going to burst!" moaned Sakura.

"Not me, I could use another helping of that cake!" said Domino cheerfully.

"Honestly, I'm amazed that you can eat that much and not get fat!" joked Elaine.

"Shut up, you!" shot back Domino playfully.

Everyone laughed.

"Yes, well that was good. I suspect we'll all be getting a good nights sleep after that!" commented Kakashi with a masked smile. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura you guys should turn in early tonight. We'll begin the training first thing in the morning."

"Okay," chorused the trio.

Genmaru turned towards Tazuna.

"You'll be working on the bridge tomorrow right?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's important that I finish it as soon as possible," confirmed Tazuna seriously.

"I see, in that case we'll need to rest up tonight too guys," instructed Genmaru to Domino and Elaine. "We need to get started on our mission as soon as possible."

"Okay," said Elaine.

"Hah, piece of cake!" added Domino. "Speaking of which…"

Genmaru was already one step ahead of her. He quickly handed her another plate of the delightful sweet.

"Oh you're wonderful, Genmaru!" praised Domino happily before eating it with relish.

Once she was finished, Tsunami and Sakura proceeded to clear away the plates and silverware. Everyone then rose from the table and stretched their legs. They then headed towards their respective sleeping quarters. Naruto was just about to go to his room when Genmaru approached him.

"Might I have a private word with you, Naruto?" he asked.

"Huh? Um, okay," agreed the blond.

He and Genmaru then stepped outside and sat down on the edge of the deck. The majestic ocean gently hummed it's endless song with each rolling wave that passed.

"What's up?" asked Naruto once they were seated.

"About your training tomorrow, I have some advice for you," said Genmaru with a mysterious smile.

"Hm?" Naruto grunted intrigued.

"Not too long ago you asked me to train you. Of course you weren't exactly ready for it but I'm going to let a secret slip. You didn't hear it from me got it?"

Naruto nodded in understanding while trying his best not to remember his fiasco with the sword drawing test.

"You should carry a burden at all times if you know what I mean."

"What?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"No, that's all I'll say. The rest is for you to ponder."

Genmaru then gazed at the starry sky.

"It's a beautiful night, I'm sure it a sign of good things to come," said Genmaru cheerfully.

Naruto who had been racking his brain trying to figure out what Genmaru could possibly have been talking about stopped to look at the stars as well.

"Yeah. It's beautiful," he agreed.

Genmaru smiled.

"You'll become really strong one day Naruto. Just give it some time."

Genmaru then climbed to his feet and patted Naruto's shoulder in a brotherly manner. He then went back into the house to get some much needed shut eye. Naruto looked at the sky again and caught sight of a shooting star. Quickly he made a wish…

* * *

It was bright and sunny the next morning and just as he promised, Kakashi had his subordinates assemble in the woods.

"We will now begin the training," announced Kakashi while leaning on his crutches.

"Roger!" replied Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura in unison.

"Okay before we start, let me talk once again about chakra," begun Kakashi.

"At a time like this?" asked Sasuke with an annoyed frown.

Naruto just looked clueless and Sakura looked bored.

"Hey, I already know about that! Chatora, right?" asked Naruto with a cheery smile.

"It's chakra!" corrected Kakashi with a glare.

Naruto sweat dropped at his error.

"If you'll please, Sakura-chan," said Kakashi while giving the floor to Sakura.

"Okay," said Sakura with a nod. "Listen, Naruto. I'm going to explain this in a simple manner to save time."

Naruto nodded his understanding and the group turned their full attention on Sakura.

"Chakra is the energy that a ninja needs to utilize a technique. Said energy comes from the body's normal energy found in every cell, and sprit energy accumulated through training and experience. In other words, these two energy's are squeezed out of the body and molded together in order to empower ninja techniques. This is called molding chakra, and with it one can perform a technique by forming a seal," explained the pink haired kunoichi.

"Correct! Iruka-sensei was blessed with an excellent student by the looks of it," praised Kakashi.

Sakura chuckled in pleasure.

"What's with that!? You can learn that stuff with your body even if you don't understand the hard stuff!" declared Naruto jealously.

"Exactly what Naruto said. We're able to use techniques anyway," added Sasuke with a shrug.

"Not quite. You guys aren't able to use your chakra completely yet," contradicted Kakashi.

"What?!" cried Naruto in disbelief.

"Listen, just as Sakura said, molding chakra means to extract energy from both the body and the sprit and mold them together. Also, the amount of energy needed will vary depending on the type of technique you wish to execute. In other words, the mixing will differ depending on the nature of the technique. So if you cannot control how much chakra you are molding, no matter how large it is, your techniques will only be either half as effective or not executed at all. Wasting energy, as it were, will result in not being able to fight as effectively in battle," explained Kakashi.

"Okay, so what should we do?" asked Naruto thoughtfully.

"Now we get to the heart of the matter. You guys are going to learn how to control your chakra using your body. You will be under going rigorous training where you'll be putting your life on the line," replied Kakashi gravely.

Everyone tensed at the thought.

"What do we have to do?" asked Sakura nervously.

Kakashi gazed into each of their eyes for a moment.

"Climb a tree," he said.

"Climb a tree!?" echoed the group in surprise.

"That's right," confirmed Kakashi. "However, it's not an ordinary tree climbing exercise. You'll have to climb without using your hands."

"And how are we suppose to do that?" asked Sakura. "_It sounds downright impossible._"

"Just watch me," replied Kakashi.

The elder ninja formed a seal by clashing his hands together with his middle and index fingers pointing skyward on his right hand. Suddenly a small cloud of dust picked up around his feet, but there was no breeze present. After gingerly shifting his weight on his crutches he begun walking towards a nearby tree. Much to the amazement of Team Seven, Kakashi started walking directly on the tree!

"He's actually doing it!" stammered Naruto.

"Using just his legs!" added Sakura.

By this point, Kakashi was more than halfway up the tree. Abruptly he begun walking on a tree branch upside down! Once the others had a chance to marvel at his human bat impression, Kakashi yelled down to the group while standing in place.

"This is how it's done. All you have to do is gather chakra at the bottom of your feet and attach it to the tree trunk. As you can see, something like this is possible using chakra," declare Kakashi.

"Wait! How can doing something like that make us stronger, Sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Now we get to the main topic," announced Kakashi cheerfully. "The main purposes of the training is to accumulate and maintain a constant amount of chakra in the right location. This is difficult to do, even for a well trained ninja. Also, the amount of chakra required for this exercise is quite subtle so the exact amount of chakra you'll need to mold is completely random. On top of that, they say that the most difficult place to gather chakra is behind the feet. So if you guys can master this, then theoretically you'll be able to master any technique. However, only experience will make you guys stronger so let's get started."

In a fluid move, Kakashi withdrew and hurled a trio of kunai at the group. They all landed directly in front of their feet.

"Use those knifes to mark where you are able to climb up to with your current abilities. From there, try to make a new mark directly above that one. You guys aren't good enough to climb by walking yet so run to give yourselves a boost, and get used to it. Got it?" asked Kakashi after voicing his orders.

"Roger!" cried the trio while retrieving their respective kunai.

Naruto was just about to pick up his when suddenly he paused.

"I've got it!" he cried excitedly.

Quickly, the hyper ninja withdrew a length of rope from his nearby backpack.

"Naruto, what in the world are you doing?" asked Sakura when the blond started searching around the perimeter of the clearing.

"Ah ha, here's a few!" came Naruto's voice from behind some scrubs.

A few minutes later, Naruto emerged from behind the bushes with several stones secured to his arms and legs. Judging by the way Naruto was dragging his feet and the fact that his arms were hanging limply by his side, the blond intended to undergo the training with weights.

"Um Naruto, there's no need to make the exercise harder than necessary," said Kakashi with a sweat drop.

"Ah don't worry about it, Sensei! I'm just taking the advice of a good friend of mine and besides this training will be easy for me, the guy who is growing the most!" declared Naruto boldly once he had his knife in hand.

"Alright, if you insist. Now kindly shut up and climb a tree already," ordered Kakashi impatiently.

With a reproachful glare Naruto complied to Kakashi's wishes.

The trio formed the same seal that Kakashi made. Like before, a ring of dust picked up around their feet in some unfelt breeze.

"Alright! Lets go!" cried Naruto once the preparations were complete.

The trio dashed towards separate trees. Naruto reached his tree first since it was the closest. He had taken no more than two steps before he landed painfully on his head. Coupled with the added weight of the stones, Naruto's vision swam with stars.

"Itai!" he moaned while rolling on the ground.

Sasuke had just reached his tree by this point. One pace went by, then two. Before long, Sasuke had gone as high as eleven paces when suddenly his foot smashed a hole in his tree's trunk causing him to lose his balance. Quickly he made a slash mark on the tree before performing an array of aerobic flips back to ground level.

"_Damn, I didn't know that maintaining a constant amount of chakra was this difficult! If the chakra is too strong I'll get repelled and if it's too weak…_" Sasuke glanced at Naruto who was still cradling his throbbing head. "_I'll end up like that._"

"This is easier than I thought!" cried Sakura breaking Sasuke's train of thoughts.

Everyone glance towards the tree Sakura had chosen to find her perched almost directly near the top.

"Sakura-chan!" cried Naruto in shock from his residence on the ground.

Sakura giggled at her comrades surprised expressions while sticking out her tongue in a teasing manner.

"Oh ho, it looks like the one who is best at controlling their chakra is Sakura the girl," declared Kakashi in semi amusement from his bat position.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's something I expected from the girl I have high hopes for!" praised Naruto with a twitching eye brow. "_Although it is a little annoying._"

Sasuke merely glared at the ground.

"Damn it," he hissed.

Sakura still heard him however.

"_I wanted Sasuke-kun to compliment me, why does it always turn out like this?_" she thought in dismay.

Kakashi then spoke up again.

"Your knowledge of chakra is splendid, but your stamina and control are also good. Maybe Sakura and not someone else is closest to becoming Hokage right now," hinted Kakashi with a masked smile, much to Naruto's distress. "The Uchiha clan isn't as great as I thought either," added Kakashi causing Sasuke's eyes to narrow dangerously.

"Shut up, Sensei!" demanded Sakura heatedly. "_Sasuke-kun's going to hate me because of you!_"

Naruto and Sasuke then glared at each other.

"_There's no way…_" begun Sasuke.

"_That I'm going to let him beat me!_" finished Naruto with the exact same thought.

Kakashi seemed to sense the sudden tension between those two and begun to keenly observe them.

"_Those two have an incredible amount of chakra hidden within that Sakura can't match. If this training goes well, it'll become a treasure for them,_" thought Kakashi.

Naruto broke the staring contest first.

"Alright! I'm going to catch up to Sasuke first! I won't lose to him!" declared Naruto vigorously.

Sasuke remained silent as usual, but his thoughts were obvious.

"_Idiot._"

In a flash, the two rivals made a mad dash towards their respective trees…

* * *

It had been over an hour since the trio begun the tree climbing training. Each of them had made remarkable progress during that time, and Sakura had even been able to climb to the top of the tallest tree in the clearing twice. Currently, Sakura was taking a much needed breather to watch the others who had yet to stop.

With a yell, Naruto once again raced to his tree. He got as high as seven paces before once again falling to land painfully on his head. He begun to cradle a bump the size of Mount Fuji while rolling on the ground. His eyes were glistening with tears of pain, and his bump was sensitive to the slightest touch.

Sasuke on the other hand had gone as high as sixteen paces up his tree. He finally paused to take a break in a crouched position. His aching leg muscles were too tired to support his weigh for long though. To ease some of the stiffness in his joints, Sasuke curled up into an Indian sitting position and begun to meditate.

"_Oh it looks like Sasuke-kun is finally wearing down. But still, how much stamina do those two have?_" wondered Sakura before directing her gaze towards Naruto.

The blond turned to his tree to check how high his last mark was.

"_Naruto hasn't improved much at all. He's probably going to give up and start complaining now,_" thought Sakura with an amused smile.

Sure enough, Naruto climbed slowly to his feet and begun cursing at the tree.

"_Hah, he's so easy to figure out._"

Sakura's expression turned to one of surprise when Naruto approached her.

"Hey can you give me some tips?" asked Naruto hopefully once he had dragged his weighted down body close enough.

"What?" asked the momentarily startled kunoichi drawing the eye of Sasuke.

"You know, for the tree climbing thing. But don't tell Sasuke okay?" whispered Naruto before grinning mischievously.

"_This is a first, he's asking for help for once,_" realized Sakura. "Okay, listen Naruto. Chakra requires a constant level of concentration in order to maintain it so you mustn't get too excited or desperate. Also, will your chakra to attach to the tree at all times or else the connection won't be very strong," she explained.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Okay, thank you Sakura-chan! I won't lose to Sasuke now!" declared Naruto with a grin.

Kakashi who had been observing the exchange on ground level smirked.

"_He's becoming stronger and stronger. But I wonder, just how strong he will become_," mused Kakashi. "_Naruto, the amount of potential chakra you have is most likely even greater than that of Sasuke. And even greater than mine. I can't wait to see what happens next_."

The gray haired ninja stared toward the cloudy sky…

* * *

The afternoon sun was beginning to set casting a dull ray of orange light upon the future bridge. The rumbling of construction equipment seemed to resonate in harmony to the steady thumping of hammers. Sakura, who had been observing the construction work for nearly an hour, released a loud yawn. She then proceeded to stretch the stiffness out of her muscles.

"You seem bored by yourself," came the familiar grumble of Tazuna's voice.

Sakura turned towards the direction of the voice to find Tazuna carrying a large metal I beam on his left shoulder. The elderly man was wearing a mustard yellow hardhat as well.

"Where's that blond kid and the other one?" he asked curiously.

"They're still doing tree climbing exercises," replied Sakura while sleepily rubbing her left eye.

"I see, you don't have to?"

"Well since I'm so special, Kakashi-sensei asked me to help protect you here instead," declared Sakura with a smug smile.

"Really?" said Tazuna without much enthusiasm.

A vein begun to throb in Sakura's temple.

"_What was that!? Are you calling me weak you grouchy old geezer?_" thought the pink haired girl angrily.

Tazuna didn't seem to notice Sakura's glare and he proceeded to set the I beam down near a pile of the metal bars. He then turned towards the sudden sound of footsteps approaching him from behind.

"Tazuna-san," greeted one of the construction workers.

"Huh? What is it Giichi?" replied Tazuna warily.

"Ah well…I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I was wondering if I could stop working on the bridge," requested Giichi with a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Why's that!? This is pretty sudden!" exclaimed Tazuna. "Don't tell me you've been taken in by those dreadful rumors too?!"

"I'm sorry Tazuna, I know we're getting close and I want to help you but if we don't stop Gatoh will kill us all!" murmured the worker while staring guiltily at the floor.

Tazuna growled at the mention of Gatoh's name, but he didn't comment yet.

"I'm sorry, really I am! But what's the point of building this bridge if you get killed?" continued Giichi sadly. "Please, I don't want to see anything happen to you! Let's quit."

For a moment, Tazuna did nothing. A shadow seemed to pass over his eyes before he quietly spoke up.

"I can't do that," he begun. "This bridge is our bridge that we started building together in the hope that it would improve life for the better."

"But if we loses our lives…" Giichi was too stricken by the thought to continue.

"Tell you what, it's already high noon so we'll stop for today. Sleep on it, and if you feel the same way in the morning, you don't have to come," said Tazuna before calming walking away to let the other workers know.

"_Tazuna-san…_" thought Sakura sympathetically…

* * *

"Damn it!" moaned Naruto for the ninth time that afternoon.

Both he and Sasuke were sitting down in exhaustion. They also had numerous cuts and bruises due to several falls and the occasional tree branch they would hit on the way down. The pain from these wounds only served to irritate Naruto even more.

"What the hell is going on!?" he cried.

Although Sasuke was sitting nearby, he was too caught up in his own thoughts to comment. After that, both of them grew quite save for their heavy breathing.

"_Sakura-chan is lucky, since she already managed to climb to the top of her tree she doesn't need to continue with the training_," thought Naruto while glaring at the tree looming before him. "_I wish Genmaru and the others were here, they could have kept me company if nothing else,_" he sighed before glaring reproachfully at Sasuke.

Likewise, Sasuke returned the gesture. Abruptly they both stood up.

"_Damn him! He thinks he's so cool, but I'll show him! I won't lose to you anymore Sasuke!_" vowed Naruto.

With twin cries of determination, both ninjas raced to resume the training with the intent of beating the other to the top…

* * *

Sakura and Tazuna had just arrived in the village proper. Currently, Tazuna was escorting Sakura to some unknown location in the village's market area.

"Um, where are we going Tazuna-san?" asked Sakura while dancing around the crowd of shoppers.

"Oh, well Tsunami asked me to bring home dinner tonight," replied Tazuna while sidestepping another shopper.

"I see…" said Sakura absently.

The pink haired girl had begun observing the passersby and people littering the street. Most of them, she saw, were homeless men and children who looked devoid of life. Some were carrying signs with slogans such as 'Will take any job' or 'Please help me.' Immediately a concerned frown overtook her face. Tazuna glanced a Sakura with knowing eyes, but he had yet to comment on the sight of the poor looking villagers. After a time he finally pointed to a small shop.

"We're here," he announced.

The inside of the shop was practically empty save for a tired looking man with sunken eyes.

"Welcome," he greeted with a halfhearted wave.

"_He must be the shop owner,_" realized Sakura.

She then begun looking around the store with disbelieving eyes. All of the selves were bare except for one littered with a tiny amount of vegetables that looked more fit for a rabbit.

"_There's hardly anything here!_" she observed.

Nonetheless, Tazuna was picking out some of the meager vegetables as if they were a delicacy. Another man then entered the shop and proceeded to examine the shelf behind Sakura. Suddenly, she felt something press against her backside. Sakura's cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson and her eyes widened in horror before all chaos broke loose.

"AH, PERVERT!!" she screamed while spinning around and kicking the culprit hard enough in the face to send him stumbling out of the shop with a nosebleed.

"I-I'm sorry!" stammered the man before dashing away in fright while holding his gushing nose.

Tazuna and the shop owner sweat dropped. Quickly the elder man paid for his vegetables and the two left. As they traveled, he begun speaking again to the still fuming bubblegum haired girl.

"Are you alright? You startled me back there," said Tazuna.

"I'm alright, but that pervert isn't going to be if I ever see him again!" declared Sakura heatedly. "What's up with this town anyway?"

Before Tazuna could answer, Sakura once again felt something grasp her rear.

"_Again?_" thought Sakura before whirling around angrily with her fist ready to smash into the creep's face.

She was surprised to see nothing but air, then she looked down to find a super cute little girl with shining blue eyes. The girl stuck out her hands hopefully.

"Please?" she begged with a hopeful smile.

Sakura felt tears touch her eyes at the sight of such a cute little girl begging for food. She reached into her pouch and withdrew a large fistful of candy.

"Here you are," offered Sakura with a warm smile.

The little girl's eyes widen in happiness and she gratefully accepted the candy.

"Thank you!" said the girl with a smile.

Sakura nodded while allowing her tears to flow freely. The little girl then turned and vanished into the crowd with a wave. Once she disappeared from sight, Tazuna spoke.

"It's been like this ever since Gatoh came. All of the adults are losing hope here," he said grimly while Sakura wiped away her tears. "That's why we need that bridge now! Not only to save this country, but also to act as a symbol of courage for them. The people must cast away their fear and stand up for themselves again, just like in the old days. So if by completing the bridge I can get them to do that, then I will finish it no matter what!"

Sakura quietly turned to watch the setting sun.

"_Sasuke-kun…Naruto…we have to help them somehow_…"

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were racing neck and neck up their respective trees.

"_Come on! Just a bit further!_" thought Naruto desperately.

These very thoughts seemed to curse the blond ninja. As soon as they entered his head, Naruto felt his footing slip.

"_Damn it, no!_" thought Naruto while reluctantly allowing gravity to seize him.

After a short drop, Naruto touched down heavily in a cat crouch position. Instantly Naruto's legs were jolted with sharp pain due to his added weights. He ignored this as best as he could while gazing upwards to see how far Sasuke had gotten. By this point, the Uchiha was almost at the very top of the tree.

"_Crap he's still climbing!_"

Just when it seemed as if he would finally reach the top, Sasuke suddenly lost his footing as well. Quickly Sasuke begun kicking off from tree to tree like a squirrel while descending to ground level. Nine kick offs later he safely touched down. He then surveyed the markings on Naruto's tree warily.

"_Damn, he's catching up to me!_" observed Sasuke before initiating a staring contest with his rival.

"_Freakin showoff! No, I've got to focus or else I'll never beat him!_" mused Naruto while breaking the glare to close his eyes in concentration. "Concentrate, concentrate…" mumbled the blond to himself.

As Naruto chanted, he felt his body gradually relax. Soon his aching muscles and cuts were barely noticeable. A ring of dust gathered around his feet giving Naruto a sensation of seer power in his legs as well. Even the pain brought on by his weights seemed to lessen.

"_Good, this is working,_" thought Naruto with a smile. "Here I go!" he cried while dashing towards his tree again.

"Hey, Naruto," called Sasuke abruptly which resulted in Naruto losing focus.

Instantly the power rush vanished and his aching muscles intensified causing him to fall flat on his face.

"Damn you! Don't bother me when I'm trying to concentrate!" bellowed Naruto in fury.

"Um, well…" began Sasuke uncertainly.

"Spit it out, what do you want?" grumbled Naruto while gingerly picking himself up to a sitting position. "_It's rare for him to talk to me, it better be important._"

Sasuke eyebrow started twitching in irritation at what he was about to do before speaking.

"You asked Sakura for tips right? Well what did she tell you?" asked the black haired ninja while glaring away from his rival.

For a moment Naruto was stunted into wide eyed silence. Then he grinned mischievously.

"I ain't telling," replied Naruto.

Immediately Sasuke glared at his sworn rival.

"Why you!" he growled.

They resumed their staring contest with Naruto wearing a smug smirk this time. Right up until Sasuke clobbered him…

* * *

Nightfall had finally arrived and everyone had warily assembled back at Tazuna's place. Currently everyone was gathered at the dinner table which was laden with several bowls of steamed rice and vegetables. There was also a pot of beef stew shimmering in the center of it all. With loud cries of "Itadakimasu," everyone had begun eating.

"Ah, this is fun! It's been awhile since I've got to eat with so many guests like this! It may not be able to compete with Genmaru's cooking, but I'm sure you'll find everything to be quite good!" said Tazuna with a hearty laugh.

The others laughed as well, then the face stuffing begun. Not even two minutes went by when Sasuke and Naruto held their bowls into the air.

"More please!" they said in unison while glaring at each other.

Everyone glanced up in surprise and sweat dropped upon see the competing ninja's faces covered in food. It turned to a look of disgust when the two hurled directly on the floor. The heaving when on for several seconds resulting in the smell of rotten eggs and bile.

"Good god! If you guys are going to throw up then don't eat!" roared Sakura while trying her best to ignore the stench.

"No, I must eat…" replied Sasuke weakly while wiping his mouth on his arm guards.

"Me too, even if I have to force myself. I've got to become stronger quickly," moaned Naruto.

"Indeed, and that's very admirable, but there's no need to throw up," cut in Kakashi with a nod.

Sakura sighed in exasperation while Tazuna and family chuckled good naturedly. Only Inari remained laughter free with his gaze locked onto a photograph hanging nearby. The meal then continued in this fashion until the last bowl had been eaten. Thankfully, Naruto and Sasuke did not vomit anymore after that. The group was now quietly sipping ginger flavored tea, with the exception of Sakura who had gotten up to examine the photo Inari had been staring at.

The photo in question, was of Tazuna, Inari, Tsunami, and another person who's face had been torn out of the picture. Unlike the serious Inari sitting behind Sakura, the one in the photo was frozen in permanent laughter.

"Um, why is this picture torn?" asked Sakura curiously. "It looks like it was done intentionally."

A sudden tenseness entered the room as Naruto and the others turned their attention to Tazuna and family. After a moment, Tsunami spoke.

"That person was my husband," she said quietly.

"He was once known as the hero of this town," added Tazuna.

Abruptly Inari stood up from the table and proceeded towards the front door.

"Inari! Where are you going?" asked Tsunami with a worried frown.

The kid didn't respond. Quietly he dashed out into the night.

"Father! I told you not to talk about that man in front of Inari!" scolded Tsunami angrily before giving chase to her fleeing son.

The door closed with a snap, leaving an empty silence in it's wake. The others uncertainly probed the elderly man with nervous gazes. Sakura broke the silence first.

"What's wrong with Inari-kun?" she asked.

"We won't force you to tell us if you don't want to," added Kakashi sympathetically.

At first, Tazuna said nothing. Then in an absent way he begun speaking.

"Not too long ago, Inari had a father with no blood relations. Those two were very close, just like a real father and son," his gaze softened. "Inari used to laugh a lot back then. But…"

The first of several tear drops fell from Tazuna's eyes onto the wooden table.

"But…Inari changed after the incident involving his father," he continued tearfully. "I think that was when the word courage was stolen from the people on the island. They haven't been the same ever since that day."

"What happened Tazuna-san?" asked Kakashi.

Tazuna removed his glasses and dried his eyes with his palm.

"Before I get to the accident, I think I should talk about the man who was once known as a hero on this island."

"Hero?" echoed Naruto in an intrigued manner.

"Yes…it was about three years ago when Inari and that man met each other. Back then Inari used to own a dog named Pochi. At some point, a few kids begun bullying him to try and take his dog away. Inari didn't have many friends so you can probably imagine how upset that incident made him. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the rascals wound up throwing his dog into the water and pushing him in too. The dog managed to swim back to shore, but Inari wasn't so fortunate. The poor lad didn't know how to swim and the boys responsible essentially left him for dead."

Audible gasps sounded, particularly from Sakura at the unfortunate circumstance Inari had experienced growing up. They were short lived and Tazuna proceeded with the tale.

"Inari was very lucky that day. Kaiza, a fisherman from another land, happened to have seen Inari's sticky predicament and pulled him out of the water before it was too late. A very good man if I've ever seen one. He not only fed Inari, but he also gave those boys a stern talking to. Ever since that day, Inari became attached to him. The fact that he never knew his real father might have contributed to this as well. With such a close bond between those two, naturally it was only a matter of time before Kaiza became a member of the family."

The group smiled at the thought.

"Also, Kaiza was a man that this town needed and it showed when he taught Inari to defend what he loved with both of his arms. And he was no hypocrite either. One night, when a raging flood threatened to wipe out a part of the city, he went against incredible odds to save it. The man risked his very life to swim across powerful torrents to repair the city's dam and stop the water. The townsfolk started calling Kaiza a hero after that. I don't think I've ever seen Inari prouder of his father, but then Gatoh came."

The mention of Gatoh's name immediately darkened the mood of the room.

"No one really knows what that man did to Kaiza, but the next time we saw him would be the last time…"

* * *

The town folks had gathered at the square as requested by some mysterious notice posted on each and every door. Inari and family were also there. After shoving through the large mass of people, they were able to find a spot near the front. What they saw turned their faces pale with shock. Hanging, beaten and bloody upon a wooden crucifix was Kaiza!

'DAD!!' wailed Inari with teary eyes.

'Listen up! This man is guilty for crimes committed against Gatoh Company as well as for disturbing this country's peace!' declared a short stocky man in a black business suit.

The man was wearing a pair of dark shades that hid his eye color from view. His balding head was crowned by a puffy ring of silver hair. This man was the notorious Gatoh. Standing on either side of him, were two stupid looking goons armed with Katanas.

'As punishment, he will be put to execution!' declared Gatoh with a victorious smile.

There was a murmur of distress amongst the towns folks. Gatoh then spoke up again in a more serious tone of voice.

'I truly hope that something like this will never happen again,' he said before nodding towards his bodyguards.

By this point, Inari had completely broke down crying. Tazuna put a comforting hand on his grandson's back, but he too was crying. Kaiza seemed to have sensed the sorrow of his son and painfully he tilted his head to grin proudly at him. Then his head slumped back to his chest. One of Gatoh's goons drew his blade, which he fondly allowed to gleam in the sun's rays. The swordsman reared back his sword arm…

'FATHER!!' screamed Inari before the death weapon sliced through Kaiza's stomach.

The fisherman choked on a throat full of blood as his fluids gushed onto the floor. A few seconds later, Kaiza's twitching body grew still and the audible sound of his last breath left him. Never before had so much blood been spilled in Namigakure. It was then for the first time that Tazuna saw his grandson's face become lifeless…

* * *

"Inari changed since that day. Tsunami and the people of Wave as well," concluded Tazuna tiredly.

For the longest nobody said or did anything. Then abruptly, Naruto stood up. Instantly, Naruto's protesting muscles gave out causing the blond to fall on his face.

"Are you alright? What are you doing, Naruto?" asked Sakura with a worried expression.

"If you're trying to train some more you best wait. You've molded too much chakra today," ordered Kakashi. "If you strain yourself too much more, you may die."

Naruto ignored them and struggled on trembling arms to push himself back onto his feet.

"I-I'm going to prove to him…" begun the blond before wincing in pain.

"Prove what?" asked Sakura while warily tensing to aid Naruto if needed.

Naruto finally rose to his feet on equally trembling legs.

"I'm going to prove to him that there are heroes in this world!" declared Naruto with a grin.

He then staggered outside to resume his training…

* * *

Naruto had finally managed to drag his weary body to the clearing. He quickly re-secured his weights back onto his arms and legs. Once this was done, he turned towards the tree that had mocked him all morning.

"_Inari…just you wait! I'll get strong enough to beat Gatoh's flunkies single handedly!_" he thought while forming a hand seal. "_Still, I wonder if Genmaru and the others are doing alright. Especially Elaine_…Whoa where did that come from?!" he cried.

He shook his head while blushing madly.

"_Maybe Domino and Kakashi are right. I really do like her but still…Sakura-chan_."

Naruto shook his head again as if to dislodge the thought.

"Ah to hell with it! I'm not going to get any stronger daydreaming about things that may not even happen! I'll just have to do the best that I can!"

With that said, Naruto willed the power rush to his legs and dashed towards his biggest obstacle. The blond had no idea that a proudly smiling Kakashi was watching him nearby…

* * *

"Good morning…" mumbled Sakura sleepily the following morning.

She stopped rubbing her eyes long enough to see slightly blurry outlines of the others gathered around the dining table. Once her eyes came into focus, she did a head count.

"_Looks like Naruto hasn't come back yet,_" observed Sakura.

Not thinking too much of it, Sakura moved to join the others at the table. Tsunami then set a bowl of leftover steamed rice covered with two fried eggs in front of her.

"Here you are, dear," said Tsunami cheerily.

"Thank you," responded Sakura with a grateful smile.

She then turned her attention on Kakashi, who was absently tracing the edge of the metal plate on his gauntlets. Tazuna was the first to speak up.

"Naruto didn't come back last night."

"He's just being stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if he passed out from excessive chakra use by now," waved off Sakura with a shrug.

"Dear me, will Naruto-kun be alright?" asked Tsunami with a concerned expression on her face. "It's unnatural for a child to stay out so late by himself."

"There's no need to worry. Naruto is a decent ninja, even if he doesn't look like one," piped up Kakashi.

"Heh, knowing that idiot, he's probably sprawled out in the middle of the woods," said Sasuke bluntly.

The Uchiha then wordlessly exempted himself from the table.

"Sasuke-kun?" called Sakura in confusion from Sasuke's action.

"I'm going for a walk," said Sasuke without slowing his stride.

"But we're going to eat…" begun Sakura before noticing Sasuke's already empty plate. "_That was fast!_" she thought with a twitching eyebrow…

* * *

Naruto awakened to the feel of someone gently shaking him.

"You're going to catch a cold if you sleep out here," came a soft voice.

With a groggy groan, Naruto painfully climbed to a sitting position. He then begun rubbing his eyes free of sleep. Once done, he turned his full attention on the one who rouse him. He was greeted with the sight of a pleasantly attractive person carrying a basket and wearing a pink kimono dress with what looked like a black neck collar. Said person had long black hair and alluring dark brown eyes.

"Hm? Who are you, miss?" asked Naruto sleepily while waiting for his bleary vision to clear.

Instead of answering, the pretty stranger smiled. Naruto's cheeks burned at the sight.

"Um, did you wake me, miss? By the way, what are you doing out here?" asked Naruto while shyly scratching his cheek.

"Picking herbs," replied the stranger.

"Herbs?" echoed Naruto.

"That's right. To cure injuries and illness."

"Oh, well if you like I can help," offered Naruto.

"Would you? Thank you very much," gratefully said the pretty stranger, who rose and gestured to a nearby clearing.

Upon arrival, Naruto's new friend showed him how to pick the herbs without damaging them. They then worked in silence for several minutes. Once they filled up the basket with the fragile greenery, Naruto wiped his brow with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Phew, this is a tedious job to be doing this early in the morning," commented Naruto with a frown.

"Maybe so, but what are you doing out here so early?" asked the black haired stranger.

Naruto grinned.

"Training!" he declared proudly.

"Hm? Are you a ninja or something?" asked the stranger in mild surprise. "That forehead protector looks like something a ninja would wear."

"Do I look like one?" asked Naruto hopefully with slightly flushed cheeks. "Yes, I'm a ninja!" cried Naruto excitedly before his new friend could answer.

"Wow, you're amazing," said the stranger with a genuine look of admiration.

Naruto laughed in pleasure while rubbing the back of his head.

"But why are you training?"

"Because, I want to become stronger!" replied Naruto with a grin.

"But you look strong enough already. You don't seem to be having too much trouble moving with those weights on."

"Oh these are just to help me get stronger even faster. But I still want to become even stronger than I am now!" declared Naruto.

"For what reason?"

"My goal is to become the number one ninja in my village, but more than that I have a few promises I want to keep," Naruto clenched his fist in determination with his famous fox grin in place.

"I see, are you doing this for someone else or for yourself?"

"What?" said Naruto with a confused look.

The stranger chuckled.

"What's so funny?" cried Naruto with an embarrassed flush.

"Do you have someone who is important to you?" asked the stranger with a smile.

"Important? What are you getting at?" asked Naruto with mounting confusion.

The stranger's eyes narrowed sadly.

"_Shoot, I must've said the wrong thing again,_" Naruto then mentally berated himself before the stranger spoke again.

"A person is able to become truly strong when they wish to protect someone they cherish."

Naruto stiffened.

"_She's right! It's just like that time when I protected Iruka-sensei,_" mused Naruto before smiling. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

The stranger smiled again and picked up the herb basket while rising.

"You'll become truly strong."

"Yep!" replied a beaming Naruto.

"I hope we meet again one day. Oh and by the way, I'm a man," said the stranger before striding off into the woods.

"_No way! He's even cuter than Sakura-chan!_" thought Naruto while holding his head in shock. "My gosh, there sure are some mysterious things in this world," he grumbled to himself once his new friend was out of ear shot.

Sasuke then emerged from the direction that the stranger went in with a troubled expression on his face.

"_That person, she feels familiar some how,_" thought the Uchiha before turning his attention on Naruto.

The blond was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he never sensed Sasuke's approach. A sudden jolt of pain, courtesy of Sasuke's fist overtook Naruto's head.

"Itai! What are you doing you jerk!?" moaned Naruto while rubbing his head.

"Did you forget about breakfast time, idiot?" shot back Sasuke with his arms folded.

"Huh?" thought Naruto in momentary confusion then he suddenly grinned. "_I'll show you what I can do now hotshot_."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in irritation once he realized why Naruto was grinning.

"_Damn it_…"

* * *

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun!" called Sakura for the ninth time.

Both she and Kakashi had been looking for their comrades for nearly twenty minutes. Apparently, they had changed the location of their training.

"What in the world could they be doing?" complained Sakura in irritation.

Before Kakashi could reply, a kunai landed with a dull thunk in front of them. The surprised duo glanced in the direction from whence the projectile came to find Naruto laying lazily upon a tree branch. The blond begun to laugh.

"No way! Naruto is able to climb almost to the top of the tree, and he's still wearing those weights too!" gasped Sakura in awe.

"What do you think of me now guys? I'll be able to climb to the top of this tree in no time!" declared Naruto with a grin.

He then hopped up to a standing position.

"_Interesting. He doesn't seem to be having any difficulty moving with those weights,_" observed Kakashi.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Naruto lost his balance!

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sakura.

"This isn't good!" cried Kakashi with a wide eye.

Naruto seemed to fall in slow motion and he was just about to dive head first towards the ground when he abruptly came to a halt. Naruto was hanging upside down from the branch like a bat!

"Just kidding!" declared the blond with a hearty laugh.

"You scared me!" wailed Sakura angrily. "_I'm going to kill you later, damn it!_"

"_It looks like he has gotten a little better. Still, I do wish he wouldn't do things like that. He just may seriously hurt himself,_" thought Kakashi with a relieved sigh.

Kakashi's musings seemed to curse the blond. With a loud plopping sound, Naruto's feet detached from the branch. Everyone's eyes widened in horror!

"AH, NARUTO YOU IDIOT! THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET COCKY!" screamed Sakura.

Naruto let loose a shrill scream as gravity seized him. He then closed his eyes in preparation for his doom. Several seconds when by and still he hadn't smashed into the ground.

"_The hell!? Why is it taking so long?_"

Naruto risked opening his eyes to find Sasuke holding onto his legs while hanging from the same tree branch Naruto was just on.

"Sasuke?" said Naruto in disbelief.

"Idiot!" berated the Uchiha with a glare before smirking.

"Yay, way to go Sasuke-kun!" cheered Sakura happily.

Kakashi smiled.

"_These guys have definitely gotten better_," thought the elder ninja.

* * *

Sakura, Tazuna and Kakashi came back to the tree climbing site later that afternoon.

"Hey guys, I thought we could try something different today and have a picnic lunch!" greeted Tazuna while holding up a large basket.

"Awesome! That's a great idea!" wholeheartedly declared Naruto once he came down from his tree.

Sasuke touched down as well and the group then set up the picnic. Once the blanket had been spread and laden with the dishes, everyone begun eating. Sakura spoke up shortly after they started.

"You know, you've gotten a lot stronger, Naruto. Compared to before you 're moving almost normally with those stones on," she commented.

"You bet I am!" cried Naruto with a pleased grin.

"Naruto, who gave you the idea of wearing weights anyway?" asked Kakashi curiously.

Naruto sweat dropped.

"Um, I got the idea from a dream I had!" he lied.

"Interesting, but it seems so…" begun Tazuna.

"Old fashioned!" finished Sakura.

Naruto chuckled nervously and proceeded to change the subject.

"How's the bridge coming old, man?" Naruto asked Tazuna.

He growled a bit at the old man line but shrugged it off with a sip of tea.

"The bridge is almost complete!" declared Tazuna cheerfully. "It's all thanks to you guys."

"You're welcome, Tazuna-san," said Kakashi with a masked smile.

"Yeah, but even though we protected you I think that you're amazing, Tazuna-san!" gushed Sakura. "Not many people could construct almost half of a bridge in just four days!"

"Oh how embarrassing! I couldn't have done it without everyone's help!" replied Tazuna modestly. "But I have to know, why did you guys stick around even though I lied in the request details?"

"Not doing right when you know it's right is the coward's way. There are no weak soldiers under a valiant commander, or so the saying goes," murmured Kakashi. "Thus is the teachings of the previous Hokage."

"He sounds like a wise man," observed Tazuna.

"He was, but he's dead now," confirmed Kakashi quietly. "Anyway, the message behind it is simple. Nobody here is cowardly enough to ignore someone in trouble. I'm sure Genmaru and the others feel the same way."

"Yeah," agreed Tazuna.

The rest of the meal proceeded in silence and once all the dishes had been consumed Sakura helped Tazuna clear away the platters. Tazuna then spoke up.

"Regardless of the reason, I'm glad you guys are here. I have a feeling that great things are in store for this town. For that I thank all of you very much," said Tazuna with a warm smile.

"Aw geez Tazuna-san, you don't have to lay it on so thick like that. We're just happy that we can help," said Sakura.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Right, well I suppose I better get back to help make dinner. Don't be late, guys," announced Tazuna.

"I'll help set the table again." said Sakura.

Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna then rose and went to the house. Once they vanished from sight, Naruto and Sasuke resumed training…

* * *

Tazuna and the others were all waiting patiently for Naruto and Sasuke to come back. They had all already ate the evening meal in their absence. After some time, Sakura spoke up.

"They're late," said Sakura quietly. "Naruto I can understand but Sasuke-kun too?"

"Be patient Sakura-chan, I'm sure they'll turn up soon," said Tazuna as positively as he could.

"I guess you're right," agreed Sakura gloomily when suddenly there came the sound of the front door being opened.

Everyone turned towards it to find Sasuke and Naruto staggering into the dining room with Sasuke trying his best to support Naruto's weight. Naruto's arm was draped over Sasuke's shoulder due to his inability to walk by himself.

"Are you two alright? You guys look dirty and tired," observed Tazuna.

"We both climbed to the top," came Naruto's reply.

The blond looked up and chuckled at the surprised expression on Tazuna and family's faces.

"Alright!" cheered Sakura.

"_I knew they could do it,_" thought Tsunami with a proud smile.

"_Looks like they're ready_," thought Tazuna.

Inari stared.

"Okay, good work you two. I want you guys to help guard Tazuna-san as well now," Kakashi rewarded causing the exhausted ninjas to mentally cheer in happiness.

"Roger that!" cried Naruto while pumping his fist in the air with a sudden burst of energy.

The unexpected move caused Sasuke to lose his balance. Both ninjas fell to the floor.

"Dumbass!" growled Sasuke in annoyance.

Everyone laughed.

A sudden bang upon the dining room table caused everyone to flinch. The culprit turned out to be a teary eyed Inari.

"Why are you trying so hard to end up like him? You can't beat Gatoh's men even if you train!" cried Inari while glaring at Naruto. "No matter how hard you try and say those good looking words, weak people are always going to lose to strong people!"

"_Him? Does he mean Kaiza-san?_" pondered Sakura with everyone else's exact thoughts.

"Shut up kid! I'm different from you," countered Naruto.

"Bastard! It pisses me off just to watch you! You don't know anything about this country and yet you're so nosy!" Inari was practically screaming now. "How could someone like you, who has never known real pain and just laughs all the time possibly understand what we're going through!?"

A shadow seemed to pass over Naruto's eyes.

"Is that why you're pretending to be the main character in a tragedy? If that's the case, an idiot like you can just keep on crying. You little sissy!!" spat Naruto venomously.

Inari reeled back as if he had been punched.

"Naruto! That's a bit much," scolded Sakura.

With a grunt of annoyance, Naruto climbed to his feet and staggered to his room.

"Naruto…" whispered Sakura sadly.

That night, Inari cried…

* * *

It was sometime later that evening by the time Inari was able to stop the water works. Currently he was sitting outside mulling over the argument he had with Naruto. As much as he hated to admit it, Naruto had made some good points.

"_But a guy like that could never beat Gatoh_…" mused Inari bitterly.

The sullen kid stiffened at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"May I join you?" requested the voice of Kakashi.

With the smallest of nods Inari scooted over so that the tall ninja could sit down. Once seated, Kakashi gazed absently at the crescent moon.

"Naruto didn't say that out of spite you know. He's just stubborn," vouched Kakashi.

Inari remained silent.

"We heard about your father from Tazuna-san. From what I gather, you and Naruto are pretty similar."

Inari narrowed his eyes.

"Yes believe it or not. Naruto never got to experience the joy of having a father either, though in his case he never knew either of his parents. He also never had a single friend growing up."

Inari then turned his full attention on Kakashi with surprised interest, fully unaware that he had anything in common with the loud ninja.

"But you know, I never once saw him grow timid, sulky or cry. Instead, he was always desperate to make people recognize him," Kakashi shifted his gaze to Inari. "For that dream, he was even able to put his life on the line countless times. I think, he grew tired of crying at a young age."

Both of them then turned their gazes to the tranquil surface of the ocean.

"I think that's why he knows the true meaning of being strong just as your father did. Honestly, Naruto might be the person who understands you the most."

The duo once again faced each other.

"What Naruto said to you back there are probably words that he has told himself many times," concluded Kakashi with a masked smile.

He then turned his attention to the moon, leaving Inari to ponder over Naruto in a new light…

* * *

Morning came all too soon for the group. Everybody had assembled in the dining room minus Naruto who was still sound asleep.

"Please take care of Naruto, Tsunami-chan," requested Kakashi. "He used his body to the max so I don't think he'll be able to move today."

"Alright, I'll take good care of him. However, are you sure you should be up and about, Sensei?" asked Tsunami to the apparently recovered gray haired ninja.

"Don't worry, I feel fine now," confirmed Kakashi with a masked smile.

Tsunami nodded her understanding.

"Alright, we're off," announced Tazuna before giving his daughter a hug.

"Take care father and don't strain yourself," requested Tsunami while returning the embrace.

"Okay, see you later," replied Tazuna with a kindly smile.

Once everyone was ready, the group made their way towards the bridge…

* * *

Naruto awakened sometime later with a start.

"I overslept!" he cried.

Quickly he raced to the dining area. He was graced with the sight of Tsunami washing dishes.

"Hey, where did everyone go?" asked Naruto with a feeling of dread.

"Oh, Naruto-kun. Your Sensei said that you should rest today," replied Tsunami with a cheery smile.

"Aw man, I can't believe they left me!" moaned Naruto before dashing back to his room.

He then hurriedly proceeded to get dressed in his usual apparel. Then, more out of habit than anything, he strapped the stones back onto his arms and legs. Once he was ready, he returned to the dining area and slipped on his sandals.

"See you later!" he cried over his shoulder to Tsunami before dashing towards the bridge.

Instantly he took to the trees with a high jump and begun jumping from branch to branch like a squirrel.

"Sheesh, they could've at least woke me up!" grumbled Naruto to himself as he traveled.

A few minutes of tree hopping went by before he noticed something out the corner of his eye…

* * *

"What is this!?" exclaimed Tazuna upon arriving at the bridge.

All of Tazuna's workers were sprawled on the floor while cradling painful looking wounds.

"What's wrong? Are you guys alright?" cried Tazuna in alarm.

The elderly man didn't dare get any closer to his downed work squad.

"_Could it be?_" thought Kakashi warily.

In answer to his thoughts, a chilled gust of wind picked up and with it came a thick veil of mist.

Instantly everyone went on guard.

"Sasuke, Sakura, he's coming!" breathed Kakashi.

Everyone drew kunai from their pouches and patiently waited for an old foe to make his presence known again. Soon enough, a familiar hollow sounding voice rang out from some unknown location.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. I see that you're still carrying those kids around. The boy is shaking already, how pitiful," drawled Zabuza.

Without warning, the group were surrounded by several Zabuzas. This time however, there was a noticeable change in their clothing. All of the water clones were wearing light weight, sleeveless, black T-shirts and black pants. Their cowhide armguards had been replaced with padded corduroy guards instead. All of them were staring balefully at the group. Then, oddly enough, Sasuke smirked.

"Hm?" grunted one of the clones in surprise. "_What could possibly be so funny?_"

"Yeah I'm shaking alright. Shaking with excitement, that is," said Sasuke confidently.

All of the clones smiled at that statement. Kakashi then turned towards Sasuke with a masked smile of his own.

"Go for it, Sasuke," verbally invited Kakashi.

One of the clones roared while swinging it's massive blade. The weapon had barely started moving before Sasuke vanished in a flash. A split second later he reappeared in the same spot with his eyes closed. All of the water clones then burst into puddles of water while clutching their slashed throats.

"_Too easy,_" thought Sasuke darkly.

"Oh ho, he defeated all of my clones. Looks like that brat has gotten a bit stronger, he should make a perfect rival for you eh, Haku?" drawled Zabuza's voice from nearby.

The real Zabuza then stepped into visibility range of the group and with him came the masked boy from before!

"Looks like it," agreed the boy called Haku.

"Ah, it seems that my prediction was right on the mark," commented Kakashi while standing protectively in front of Tazuna and Sakura. "You were working for Zabuza after all."

"Just as I thought," added Sasuke while moving into position next to Kakashi.

"So the whole story about being a hunter ninja was a lie?" asked Tazuna.

"Indeed," confirmed Kakashi.

"Who does that guy think he is!? He's got a lot of nerve showing his face after what he tried to pull!" growled Sakura. "I hate conceited guys like that!"

"Scum like him isn't worth wasting emotions on. I'll fight him myself," murmured Sasuke with frosty seriousness.

"Oh, you're so cool, Sasuke-kun!" gushed Sakura.

"_Why does she always compliment Sasuke?_" thought Kakashi with slumped shoulders.

"You seem pretty confident, boy. You do realize that the water clones you've defeated only had one tenth the strength of the original. Zabuza-sama could easily beat you on his own however…" begun Haku.

Unexpectedly he begun dashing towards the Uchiha. Haku started rapidly spinning in some sort of stumbling dance until he appeared as nothing more than a vortex.

"I am your opponent!" cried Haku from somewhere within the rapidly approaching tornado.

"What!" exclaimed the group in surprise.

Only Sasuke seemed unfazed by the sight. With a smirk he produced a pair of kunai in both hands…

* * *

"Inari, come and help me out," called Tsunami.

"Coming, mom," responded Inari from somewhere upstairs.

"_Oh my, the beginnings of old age must be getting to me,_" thought Tsunami, then the unthinkable happened.

She heard the sound of metal carving wood directly behind her. The door then scattered into several pieces due to the handy work of Gatoh's sword wielding bodyguards! Tsunami fearfully backed away when they entered the dinning area.

"So you're Tazuna's daughter eh? Sorry Miss but you're coming with us," proclaimed one of the thugs.

This thug was dressed in a blue hoodie that added on to the pirate look offered by his black bandana. His black eyes stared deviously at Tsunami as if daring her to scream. He sneered when Tsunami did just that. In a flash, the pirate like thug shoved Tsunami to the floor. She covered herself protectively with her arms while whimpering in fear. The goons begun to laugh. They ceased upon hearing the approaching sound of footsteps.

"Mom!" cried Inari in alarm.

"Don't come over here! Run away, Inari!" screamed Tsunami desperately to her horror stricken son.

"What a cute little kid you are, it sends chills down my spine thinking of all the fun I'll have cutting you up!" taunted the other goon maliciously.

This thug was wearing an eye patch that seemed sinister due to the gnarly scars framing his face. He was topless, exposing his muscular and tan torso. His only form of clothing seemed to be a cotton wrap covering his lower body.

"Can I kill him, huh can I?" he asked his partner excitedly.

"Sure, we only need one hostage anyway. Do what you will," okayed the pirate thug.

The tan thug chuckled while unsheathing his blade. Inari trembled in horror before he felt something warm and wet slide down his legs.

"He's pissing his pants!" cried the tan thug upon seeing the spreading pool of fluids gather around Inari's feet.

Both goons erupted into deep booming laughter. Inari begun to cry in both fear and shame. The tan goon then sunk into a battle pose and advanced on his prey.

"Wait!" cried Tsunami.

The goon came to a halt and both he and his partner turned to see what she wanted.

"If you so much as lay a finger on him, I'll bite my tongue and die!" growled Tsunami. "You guys need a hostage right?"

The pirate thug sneered in amusement while the tan thug grudgingly put his sword away.

"You should thank your mom, kid," said the pirate thug smugly while advancing on Tsunami.

Inari shank to his knees and started sobbing.

"Mom…I'm sorry…"

The goons ignore him and proceeded to bind Tsunami's arms.

"Damn wench, I really wanted to cut that kid!" whine the tan thug once they finished tying Tsunami's arms.

"Quit your bitching, you cut plenty of things on the way here!" scolded the pirate thug.

The pirate thug then yanked on a length of robe causing Tsunami to stumble forward like a dog on a lease.

"So long brat, make sure you change your diapies!" mocked the tan thug with a laugh.

Then they all left, leaving Inari to his water works.

"_Please forgive me Mom…I'm too weak to protect you_…"

'You sissy! A baby like you should just keep on crying! You little sissy!'

"_But they're too strong for me, Naruto-san_."

'He's probably tired of crying now. That why he knows the meaning of being strong just like your father.'

"_Kakashi-sensei_…"

'Even if it costs you your own life, protect whatever is most important to you using these two arms.'

Inari wiped away his tears and stood up to his full height. Although no one was around to see it, the fire in his eyes shone with a radiance that Inari had long since forgotten.

"Father…" said Inari quietly before slipping on his sandals and chasing after the thugs.

* * *

The thugs had just reached the end of the deck when the tan one spoke.

"You know, seeing your pretty skin makes me want to slice you up too," he said with a chuckle.

"Enough of that! Hurry up and walk!" barked the other thug while yanking on the rope again.

Tsunami stumbled.

"Stop it you jerks!" came a shrill cry.

The trio turned towards the source to find Inari staring them down angrily.

"Inari! I told you to run away!" scream Tsunami.

"Alright, the little baby grew some balls! You won't be getting off so easily this time, kid!" warned the tan goon with a maniacal grin.

Inari stiffened at the way the creep was staring at him, but he knew that he couldn't back down now.

"Get away from my mom!" cried Inari.

Then with a bellow and a rush of adrenaline, Inari charged.

"Idiot, he must really be in a hurry to die," commented the tan thug.

"Lets just kill him," added the pirate thug while loosening his blade.

Tsunami gasped in horror.

"Stop, touch him and I'll bite my…"

She never got to finish that statement. A sharp blow to her neck's nerves caused her to black out. The goons made no effort to catch her as she sunk to the floor.

"Shut up and sleep," muttered the pirate thug after knocking her out.

He and his partner then crouched into battle ready positions to wait for the enraged Inari to run to his death…

* * *

There was a dull clang of metal on metal, and the group found Sasuke and Haku locked in a standoff.

"_Oh? He can keep up with Haku's speed,_" mused an intrigued Zabuza.

Zabuza then shift his gaze to Kakashi.

"Sakura, stick with Tazuna-san and don't wander too far away from me," ordered Kakashi upon catching the tan ninja's eye. "We'll let Sasuke deal with that guy."

With a nod of understanding, Sakura stood protectively in front of Tazuna with a kunai clenched tightly in her fist. Everyone then turned their attention to the battle at hand.

The sparing ninjas broke the lock and went into spins to build up momentum. Their weapons then rang with a loud shing upon impact.

"I don't want to kill you, but you don't intend to back off do you?" asked Haku quietly.

Sasuke smirked.

"What are you, stupid? You're the one who should back off," replied the Uchiha bluntly.

"I figured as much. But you should know that there's no way you'll be able to keep up with my next move. I am two steps ahead of you after all," said Haku.

"Two steps huh? And what might those be?"

"The first is the water on the ground due to the clones you defeated. The second is the fact that I'm keeping one of your arms busy. I think it's obvious but you'll only be able to take and block my next attack at best," explained Haku before abruptly forming hand seals using only his left hand!

"_What the!? He's creating seals with only one hand!_" thought Sasuke with everyone else's exact thoughts.

"Sensatsu Suisho," said Haku quietly before stomping with his right foot.

With that done, the very water littering the ground around the two fighters begun to rise into the air.

"_I don't want to kill you he says. Heh, If the Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death hit, that kid won't have a chance of survival_," thought Zabuza with an unseen smile. "_You're a pretty wicked guy, Haku_."

"Be careful, Sasuke-kun!" pleaded Sakura with a worried look.

The floating water then assumed the shape of several Senbon. The deadly tips took aim at Sasuke, who didn't know which way to look. Needles were everywhere! Sasuke then closed his eyes with a frown of concentration.

"_Relax. This technique isn't full proof, I just have to remember the training_," chided Sasuke mentally.

A ring of swirling dust gathered around Sasuke's feet, empowering his legs with raw strength. Sasuke felt Haku's arm twitch…

* * *

The two goons attacked in a flash. From an bystander's point of view, it was impossible to see exactly when they drew their swords. A chilly breeze picked up at that moment and the thugs turned around expecting to see the lifeless form of Inari. Instead, the were graced with the sight of a severed log laying in the spot were the boy should have been.

"A replacement technique?" grunted the surprised goons.

"Hey, where's the woman?" asked the tan swordsman while surveying the area.

"Sorry I didn't arrive sooner, but the hero always arrives late you know!" came a voice behind them.

The goons turned back around to find Naruto setting Tsunami gently down while carrying Inari on his shoulder.

"_Who?_" they thought in unison.

"Naruto-nii-san!" cried Inari in surprise.

"Well done, squirt! I was able to save your mom because you got their attention," praised Naruto with a pleased smile.

Inari stared at the blond with a look of awe. Then with a sudden realization he spoke.

"Nii-san! How did you know that those guys were here?"

"Huh? Well I saw a wild boar in the forest that had been sliced by a katana. Also there were several slashed trees. Since they were headed towards your house I figured that I should come check on you guys," explained Naruto thoughtfully. "I'm glad I did too."

"I see…" said Inari.

One of the thugs then spoke up.

"You must be one of the incompetent ninjas that Tazuna hired," grumbled the tan one while scratching his armpit.

"And you must be a monkey!" quipped Naruto with a laugh.

"You little brat!" growled the tan swordsman.

"Let kill em!" cried the pirate thug.

They both charged.

Naruto merely smiled before, in a fluid move, he withdrew and hurled a pair of shuriken at his assailants. However, they easily blocked the flying stars with their swords.

"You'll have to do better than that!" taunted the pirate thug without faltering.

Neither of them were expecting Naruto to chuckle.

"Is that so? Idiots."

"You little punk! Prepare yourself!" roared the tan ninja.

The distance was closing fast, then without warning, a pair of Narutos leaped with a splash out of the moat. The goons never had a chance of reacting. With a vicious snap kick to the goon's temples, they dropped completely out cold. The victorious Narutos then vanished in twin clouds of smoke.

Inari was stunned speechless and could only manage a wow of awe.

"Easy as pie!" cried Naruto with a laugh while trusting his fist towards Inari in victory.

Inari returned the gesture with the first huge grin he had ever shown in a long time.

"Naruto-nii-san, you're like a ninja!" praised the boy with giddy excitement.

"Idiot, I am a ninja!" corrected Naruto happily at the sight of Inari's smiling face.

The two broke out into crazed laughter…

* * *

"_Now!_" mused Haku as the needles rocketed towards them.

Quickly Haku leaped back out of range of the technique. All of the needles touched down resulting in suddenly shockwave followed by a large wall of water from the force. Haku skidded to a halt to seek out Sasuke's mutilated body, but the Uchiha was nowhere in sight.

"_Where?_" Haku glanced upwards to find Sasuke relatively unharmed. "_Shoot, he must've noticed the opening in my attack!_"

Quickly the masked fighter hopped backwards in rapid session to avoid Sasuke's retaliatory wave of shuriken. Haku skidded to a halt after dodging three of them.

"You're pretty slow," came the voice Haku dreaded to hear from behind him. "Looks like you can only receive and block my attacks!" said Sasuke with a victorious smile.

Instantly the two fighters went into a spin again. Haku paused to block Sasuke's strike by using his forearm to stop Sasuke's. The Uchiha wasn't letting up though. He proceeded to hurl his other kunai at Haku's head. With lightening fast reflexes, Haku ducked under the attack. However, as a consequence, Haku became vulnerable to a swift kick that sent him flying back several feet. Haku landed with a winded grunt on his back.

"_Haku lost in speed!?_" thought a disbelieving Zabuza with wide eyes.

"Looks like I'm faster!" proclaimed Sasuke drawing Zabuza's attention.

"Well now Zabuza, you can't make fun of my team just because they're children," added Kakashi. "Sasuke here is Konoha's number one rookie this year. Sakura, standing next to me, is the village's smartest rookie."

Sakura chuckled modestly.

"_Hell yeah! Take that, damn it!_" thought the pink haired Kunoichi.

"And the last one is Konoha's loudest, most biggest showoff and best rookie when it comes to surprising people. Together, they are Team Seven," concluded Kakashi proudly…

* * *

"Hachoo!" sneezed Naruto.

"Do you have a cold nii-san?" asked Inari with instant worry.

"No I'm fine. A cute girl must be talking about me," replied Naruto with a flush. "Anyway I have to apologize to you Inari about what I said last night."

"What?"

Naruto chuckled while placing a hand behind his head.

"About calling you a sissy and all. I'm sorry Inari, you're actually a pretty strong guy," praised Naruto while fondly ruffling Inari's hair.

Suddenly Inari started crying again.

"Damn it! I promised myself that I wasn't going to cry anymore!" wailed Inari as his sobbing increased in volume. "Now you're going to make fun of me and call me a sissy again!"

Naruto turned away to gaze at the sparkling ocean.

"What are you talking about, squirt? Don't you know it's okay to cry when you're happy?" said Naruto warmly.

"Huh?"

Naruto grinned while shifting his gaze back to Inari.

"It's okay to cry when you're happy," repeated Naruto cheerfully.

"Nii-san…" sniffled Inari with renewed tears but this time he let them flow freely.

Naruto chuckled good naturedly before turning in the direction of the bridge.

"Alright, I can trust you to handle things here right?" asked Naruto.

"Yes sir!" confirmed Inari.

"Great, I'll be headed to the bridge then."

Naruto then took off running.

"Being a hero is pretty busy work!" he called over his shoulders as he ran.

"It sure is!" cried Inari back with another grin while thrusting his fist respectfully towards Naruto.

The boy who forgotten hope had been reborn…

* * *

Zabuza chuckled scornfully.

"Haku, you do realize that you'll lose at this rate," commented Zabuza with an unseen smirk.

Haku rose to his feet. Then a swirling aura of purple, blue and black chakra begun to radiate around him. It was just a feeling, but Sasuke was positive that the masked fighter was in an extremely foul mood.

"Yes," replied Haku darkly.

The masked ninja then formed a seal by clashing his hands in a prayer position with his middle fingers crisscrossing between his index fingers.

"Watch out, Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura causing the Uchiha to reel around with a start.

Sasuke was stunned to find the water puddle behind him rising into the air. This water was also solidifying into what appeared to be pure ice. The crystal like substance then begun to morph into a rectangle that was as long as Sasuke was tall. Once done, it hovered in the air for a moment before showing Sasuke his reflection.

"_A mirror?_" pondered Sasuke with everyone else's exact thoughts.

The Uchiha revolved on the spot to find several more puddles of water undergoing the same transformation. Before long, Sasuke was encaged in a dome of the reflective crystals. Twelve of them surrounded him on ground level. Eight more were hovering above those at a slight angle. One last mirror hovered directly above him. All of the mirrors were aimed at the baffled Uchiha.

"Hijutsu, Makyo Hyo Sho," said Haku softly.

The mirrors then begun to glow with a disturbingly eerie light.

"_That Jutsu!_" thought Kakashi with a start. "_I've never seen anything like it before!_"

Haku advanced towards one of the mirrors and he seemed to be about to walk through it. Amazingly, he somehow merged with the hovering piece of glass! Once the integration was completed, all of the mirror then begun to reflect identical images of Haku. Sasuke didn't know which way to turn.

"What in the world is going on?" breathed Sasuke with gritted teeth. "_Which one is the real one?_"

"Damn it!" growled Kakashi while making to advance towards his surrounded subordinate.

He had gone no further than five steps when, in a flash, Zabuza appeared in front of him to bar his path. The tan ninja stared at Kakashi with a cruel smile.

"Your opponent is me," stated Zabuza. "As you can see, that kid is surrounded by Haku's Secret Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals technique. He will die shortly however, if you try to help him…"

Zabuza glared balefully at Sakura and Tazuna.

"I will kill those two," concluded Zabuza darkly.

They aforementioned duo tensed with grim expressions while Kakashi silently cursed Zabuza's very being. They all shifted their attention to Sasuke and his newfound predicament.

"Well now, shall I begin?" asked Haku from some unknown location. "I'm going to show you my true speed."

Sasuke remained silent while frantically trying to sense Haku's location. All of the mirror images then produced a pair of Senbon. Sasuke only blinked once before a sharp pain seized his left shoulder.

"_What was that?_" thought Sasuke with a wince while examining a thin cut between the torn fabric of his shirt.

Another jolt of pain overtook his right shoulder causing Sasuke to cry out.

"Sasuke!!" cried Kakashi in alarm.

But for all the good that did, Kakashi may as well have remained silent. Sasuke's entire body erupted into a never ending wave of pain. The Uchiha wasn't sure how he was doing it, but somehow Haku was attacking him several dozen times per second.

"AHH!!" howled Sasuke while trying his best to cover as much of his exposed body as possible.

A slash across his hand caused Sasuke to drop his kunai. The knife then sailed harmlessly out of the dome as a result of some unseen disarming move.

"Sasuke-kun!" wailed Sakura in wide eyed horror.

By this point, several small sprays of blood begun raining out of various wounds adjoining Sasuke's body. Kakashi begun to tremble in rage while glowering at Zabuza. The tan ninja wasn't intimidated.

"Just try to get by me. You might save the boy but those two are dead," reminded Zabuza maliciously.

"_Damn him!_"

As the two titans stared each other down, Sakura quietly whispered to Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san, I'm sorry but I need to leave you for a moment."

"Alright, go!" okayed the elderly man.

Quickly, Sakura dashed towards Sasuke's discarded weapon. Zabuza and Kakashi turned towards the sound of Sakura's approaching footsteps with surprised expressions. Without faltering, Sakura scooped up the knife and hurled it towards Sasuke.

"SASUKE-KUN!!" cried Sakura drawing the pain filled eye of the lacerated Uchiha.

The flying kunai was approaching fast. Sadly, it never returned to the hands of its' owner. Haku partially separated from one of the mirrors to snag the weapon in midair.

"He caught it!?" cried Sakura in dismay.

Haku examined the tool for a moment then he mockingly shifted his gaze to Sasuke. With a defeated groan, Sasuke weakly slumped to the floor. So caught up was Haku in his downed prey that he never noticed the other projectile heading towards his head. It was only when Sasuke looked up in surprise that Haku turned towards the weapon. With a dull clang, the shuriken slashed across Haku's mask with enough force to rock his head backwards. Haku crumpled to the ground with a thud. He had been dislodged from the mirror!

For a split second all was still, then a massive explosion rang out in the center of the two battling parties. A large wall of smoke obstructed the culprit from view.

"Who is that?" murmured Sakura with everyone's exact thoughts.

The suspense was mounting to an all time high amongst the ninjas. Then the smoke cleared and from it emerge the most show-offy, hyperactive, number one…noisy ninja!

"Uzumaki Naruto has finally arrived!" declared the blond ninja with a grin. "Heh, and now that I'm here, everything is going to be fine!"

"Naruto!" cried Sakura happily.

"You've made it!" added Tazuna with a warm smile.

"Of course! Though usually in this kind of situation the main character shows up and kicks major ass!" declared Naruto while pointing at Zabuza.

The tan ninja didn't seem very worried though.

"_So this brat came out to play eh?_" mused Zabuza. "_Still as annoyingly chatty as ever I see_."

Kakashi frowned.

"_Good going, baka. You gave up the element of surprise with that flashy entrance_," thought Kakashi in irritation.

Haku had managed to rise to a half sitting position.

"_This boy_…"

"Okay! Here I come!" cried Naruto while cracking his knuckles.

Naruto then crossed his fingers.

"Kage-Bunshin no…" he begun.

Before Naruto could finish the incantation, Zabuza hurled a wave of shuriken at the startled blond.

"Move, Naruto!" ordered Kakashi.

Naruto was just about to leap aside when suddenly the flying stars were blocked by a wave of Senbon, courtesy of Haku. The deadly projectiles clattered harmlessly to the ground.

"The masked guy protected Naruto!" observed a confused Tazuna.

"What were you thinking, Naruto?!" raved Sakura heatedly.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed, baka!? What ninja would use a Jutsu in front of the enemy like that?" scolded Kakashi as well. "Unless you have the element of surprise, you should never attempt a Jutsu under your opponent's nose! Timing is very important when executing a technique. But you gave up that element when you revealed yourself so suddenly!"

"No way! I came to save you guys and…" justified Naruto before instantly looking crestfallen.

Everyone then shifted their attention to Haku who had risen to his full height.

"Haku, what's the big idea!?" fumed Zabuza with a glare.

"Zabuza-sama, please allow me to fight this kid my way," requested Haku while staring intensely at Naruto.

"What was that?!" growled Naruto while sinking into a battle ready pose.

Zabuza stared at Haku out the corner of his eye before tutting.

"Very well, if that's really what you want then I won't interfere," complied Zabuza to Haku's wishes. "You are still soft after all."

"I'm sorry," apologized Haku while bowing his head apologetically.

During this exchange, Sasuke had managed to climb shakily to his feet.

"_Soft eh? Zabuza might be right_," thought Sasuke while trying to ignore his aching body. "_Judging by these wounds, he's obviously attacking with needles. However, he hasn't gone after any critical areas. Is he just toying with me!?_" Sasuke trembled with fury.

"Alright then! If it's a fight you want then I'll just have to kick your ass first!" cried Naruto while pointing at Haku. "Five minutes is all the time I'll need!"

Haku remained silent…

* * *

"_Impossible. This is too much for Naruto_," thought Kakashi gravely. "_I have to fine a way to help them out, but Zabuza_…"

The message hidden in the tan ninja's glare was obvious, 'Move and I'll kill the old man.'

Zabuza then spoke up.

"Before we fight, let's just watch the kids play for a little bit."

Reluctantly, Kakashi quietly resigned to Zabuza's request…

* * *

"That mask…so you were a friend of Zabuza's after all! How dare you trick us!?" cried Naruto.

"I'm sorry," was Haku's response.

Naruto was stupefied by the unexpected apology. Needless to say, it wasn't something the blond had been expecting. Come to think of it, this Haku guy had been apologizing a lot. Did he really even want to fight?

"However, just as your Sensei said, tricking your opponents is the nature and true art of being a Shinobi. You shouldn't hate me for it," added Haku.

The masked fighter then tilted his head back as a kunai sailed pass. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected attack and he turned towards the culprit, who looked slightly put out about his failed move.

"_Sasuke? So that's where he was,_" thought Naruto in surprise after noticing him for the first time.

"_Curse this guy! I was certain he had dropped his guard!_" glowered the Uchiha.

As if he had read Sasuke's thoughts, Haku spoke.

"No, I haven't forgotten about you. I'd prefer it if you just stay down, but apparently that's just not going to happen," stated Haku while turning towards Sasuke. "Very well then, let's finish up between us."

Haku then calmly strode towards one of the still hovering ice mirrors.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" demanded Naruto.

Haku paused.

"Naruto-kun, we'll settle things later," he promised before once again merging with an ice mirror.

Naruto gasped in shock at the sight. He then started to tremble in anger.

"_Here he comes!_" thought Sasuke while tensing.

Haku's image appeared in the mirror directly in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha quickly glanced around. Seeing that the other mirrors were still empty, he shifted his gaze back to the Haku mirror.

"_So he's there,_" mused Sasuke while slowly reaching towards his pouch. "_Okay then I'll_…"

Haku's image suddenly disappeared. Sasuke's eyes widened in confusion until a voice sounded from somewhere behind him.

"I'm over here," declared Haku mockingly.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder fearfully.

"_When did he_…" he trembled.

Haku's image then begun appearing in the other mirrors as well. Sasuke only had time to blink once before he was once again engulfed in a wave of attacks from every direction. Sasuke grunted in pain, then mercifully the assault stopped. Sasuke fell onto his back while groaning.

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto in shock.

Even from the outside looking in, Naruto couldn't tell where Haku's attacks were coming from.

"_How is that guy doing that!? I couldn't follow any of the attacks at all!_" thought a trembling Naruto. "_Could all of the images in those mirrors be clones? But it's coming too fast for that to be the case!_"

"_Damn it! Looks like the only way out of this situation is to have Naruto attack from the outside while I keep him busy,_" thought Sasuke while painstakingly climbing to a sitting position.

One he was fully upright he was greeted with a loud "Yo!" from Naruto.

"Aaah!" cried Sasuke in fright.

"I've come to save you!" cried Naruto with a grin. "Are you alright?"

Everyone sweat dropped.

"YOU MORON!!" roared Sasuke. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"What was that!?" countered Naruto angrily. "I came to save you and this is the thanks I get!?"

"If you wanted to help you shouldn't have came inside the mirrors! God damn, I don't care anymore! You're just a stupid ass!" growled Sasuke while glaring at the ground in frustration.

"Who are you calling a stupid ass, ya bastard!?" bellowed Naruto.

Instead of continuing with the pointless argument, Sasuke stood up. In his anger with Naruto, his pain was momentarily forgotten.

"Screw it! I'll just bust up these mirrors myself!" declared Sasuke.

The Uchiha then flashed through some hand seals.

"Hang on! What'cha gonna do?" asked Naruto in surprise.

"What do you think!? These mirrors are made of ice so I'm going to melt them!" explained Sasuke. "Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" he bellowed while taking a deep breath.

Sasuke then blew a jet of flame at several of the mirrors. For several long seconds, the frozen walls of ice were engulfed in Sasuke's technique. Finally he ceased fire to examine his handy work. What he saw made him cry out in despair.

"It didn't do anything at all!" wailed Naruto.

Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"You won't be able to melt my mirrors with such a low level fire technique," stated Haku from one of the mirrors he was hiding in.

The mirrors then begun to glow with a bright flash of light, effectively blinding the duo. As their eyes were adjusting, the duo's bodies erupted into pain due to Haku's counterattack. They both landed with a thud on their backs. Naruto climbed to his feet first.

"Damn, where is he attacking from?!" growled Naruto. "Which one is the real one?" he glanced around edgily.

"You're wasting your time trying to follow my movement with your eyes. You'll never be able to catch me," declared Haku.

"Oh yeah, well try this on for size! Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto while crossing his fingers.

In a poof of smoke, twenty one Narutos appeared. Quickly they all leaped towards a mirror with the intent of smashing all of them at once. For a second nothing happened at all, then all of the clones erupted into explosions of smoke. The real Naruto was then knocked onto his back after experiencing a rush of intense pain. Naruto laided twitching on the ground like a kicked dog.

"_Naruto_…" thought Sasuke darkly at the sight of his battered partner.

"This Jutsu of mine uses reflections to transport me from mirror to mirror at high speeds. From my point of view, you guys seem to be moving in slow motion," explained Haku calmly...

Everyone gave a start.

"That Jutsu! Could it be an advanced bloodline!?" exclaimed Kakashi with a wide eye.

Zabuza chuckled.

"Bloodline?" questioned Sakura while ignoring Zabuza.

"Yeah, it's the same as my Sharingan," replied Kakashi grimly. "It's a form of super genealogy that is only passed down through one's ancestors. This results in a Jutsu that not even I could copy. Also, if it's as powerful as I think it is, then it will be impossible to defeat."

They then look on with growing feelings of dread…

"So what!" said Naruto darkly as a shadow passed over his eyes. "I won't die here! There are too many promises that I intend to keep. Even if you're a hundred times stronger than me, I'm going to fulfill my dream of becoming Hokage!" cried Naruto.

Haku considered Naruto's words for a moment. Then in an absent way, he begun to speak.

"Becoming a true Shinobi is difficult for me. If possible, I don't want to have to kill you. Nor do I want you to have to kill me. But if you come at me, I can destroy my kind heart and become a true Shinobi right now. This bridge we're fighting on is connected to our dreams. Me for my dream and you for your dreams. So please don't hate me. I only want to protect someone who is truly precious to me. I want to work for that person, fight for that person and make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream and for it I swear I will kill you!" cried Haku.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled. As strong as Haku seemed, he was still human…

* * *

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto! Don't lose to that guy!" cried Sakura.

"Sakura! Don't egg them on!" ordered Kakashi darkly. "Even if there were some way to dispel that technique, there's no way that they'll be able to defeat that boy in their current state!"

"What!? Why's that, Sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Because, they don't have the strength to destroy their own hearts and kill someone," answered Kakashi. "That young man has no doubt already experienced the pain of being a true Shinobi unlike our Naruto and Sasuke."

Zabuza laughed.

"Exactly," cut in Zabuza. "A peaceful village like your own could never produce true Shinobi because nobody has been given the chance to kill. Without that experience, a bunch of kids like you will never be able to defeat Haku."

"Then, what can we do, Sensei?" asked Sakura shakily.

Instead of answering, Kakashi grasped the section of his forehead protector that hid his left eye from view.

"Looks like there's no choice. Sorry but I'm going to end this now," said Kakashi directly to Zabuza.

"Heh, the Sharingan again? Is that the only trick you know!?" blustered Zabuza.

The tan ninja then abruptly dashed towards Kakashi while drawing a kunai from beneath his shirt. Before the gray haired ninja could react, Zabuza thrust the knife towards Kakashi's face. Kakashi quickly halted the blade mere inches from the intended target with his palm. His hand erupted into a spray of blood which splattered upon the ground thickly.

"If you think that the Sharingan is my only trick, then you're in for a rude awakening. However, you should feel honored right now. This is the second time you've seen it, you won't live to see it a third time," murmured Kakashi with a frosty glare.

"I wouldn't say that, Kakashi. You of all people should know that a Shinobi's supreme technique isn't something that should be shown to an opponent over and over again. Also, even if you did beat me, you won't be able to defeat Haku with your little trick," said Zabuza with a smirk. "Ever since Haku was a little boy, I taught him all kinds of fighting skills. Not only does he know all of my techniques, but he has mastered his own unique fighting style as well. As a result, even the most powerful opponent has always been bested. Haku is a fighting machine that knows no equal. He's the perfect tool, unlike the scrap that follow you around!"

* * *

"Hah, if you think I'm going to chicken out then you have another thing coming!" cried Naruto while forming a seal. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Like before a group of Narutos appeared to target a specific mirror and like before they were all instantly destroyed. Naruto and Sasuke where then engulfed once again in a flurry of unseen attacks. They then landed painfully on their backs while gasping for air.

"Ugh, _it was just a little bit but I'm starting to see his movements!_" realized Sasuke.

He and Naruto then painfully climbed back to their feet.

"Not yet! One more time!" growled Naruto. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Again the shadow clones were spawned. As they leaped towards a mirror, Sasuke deftly kicked a splash of water into the air.

"It's useless!" cried Haku.

As the clones were being ripped apart once more, Sasuke caught sight of the airborne water mass being broken up as if something were running into it. Then he too was shrouded in waves of pain. Once more the duo's backs hit the floor.

"_Shoot! Even if I can see his moves now, it doesn't mean that I can keep up with him!_" mused Sasuke from his residence upon the bridge's surface. "_However, I think I can hit him now_."

* * *

"What fun this is! Even if those pieces of trash team up, they can't win! Haku is the greatest tool ever!" bragged Zabuza proudly.

"There's nothing more boring than bragging. Let's just get this over with already," demanded Kakashi.

He raised his forehead protector, unveiling the Sharingan.

"Now hold on just a second. There's one more thing I want to brag about first."

"Hm?" grunted Kakashi impatiently.

Zabuza put his kunai back into his shirt.

"In the last fight…I wasn't beaten like an idiot, as you lead me to believe. I had Haku quietly observing every aspect of the fight for one reason. Being the bright kid that he his, he only needs to see a technique one time in order to come up with a way to beat it. So here's a familiar line for you Kakashi. 'I'll tell you this, the same technique won't work on me twice' wasn't it?" drawled Zabuza with an insolent smile.

Zabuza then raised his right hand into a prayer position.

"Ninpou, Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Instantly, the very mist grew even thicker. Zabuza and everyone else were blocked from view as visibility dropped to zero. Kakashi couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

"Damn it!" hissed Kakashi.

"Sensei!" came the call of Sakura from somewhere nearby.

"Sakura! Stay near Tazuna-san!" ordered Kakashi towards the direction of her voice.

"Okay!" she cried back.

Once Kakashi heard the grumbling of Tazuna voice unite with Sakura's, the elder ninja released the breath he had been holding.

"_Good, now to finish this_."

* * *

The battling trio tensed upon the arrival of the ridiculously thick mist.

"_I see, Zabuza-san. It looks like I'll have to finish this soon_," thought Haku.

His train of thoughts were disrupted by a loud bellow from somewhere ahead. Then Haku caught sight of an orange blur two feet ahead of him.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto once more.

"_You just don't know when to quit!_" thought Haku in annoyance.

Haku had just emerged unseen from his mirror to start hacking into Naruto when a gleam of approaching light caught his eye.

"_Is that…a fire element!_"

With a grunt, Haku twisted just in time to avoid the giant mass of flame. Even so, Haku still felt the intense heat of the passing projectile. Not wanting to waste time trying to pinpoint the source of the attack in the mist, Haku proceeded to slice and dice Naruto and his clones. Haku was just nearing the final Naruto when once again a jet of flame sailed towards him. Haku mentally cursed the interloper and put on an extra burst of speed to avoid the attack. However, he wasn't quite fast enough to prevent the flame from licking his left leg. Uttering a small moan of pain, Haku attacked the obviously real Naruto and dove back into one of his mirrors. He hardly seem to care when he heard Naruto's heavy thud upon the ground, only one thought was on his mind.

"_He's starting to predict my movement!? Impossible, it must've been a coincidence!_"

Sasuke was breathing heavily from firing off so many jets of flame, but the pleased smirk that lit up his face made it all worthwhile.

"_Good, I'm starting to get the timing down. Next time, I'll nail him for sure_," vowed Sasuke.

* * *

"_This mist is way too thick. Zabuza shouldn't be able to see anything either. What could he possibly be planning?_" pondered Kakashi as he warily tried to detect any hint to Zabuza's whereabouts.

Kakashi's sharpened ears, due to the lack of sounds, caught the faint whistling of some object approaching him from behind. Quickly Kakashi withdrew a kunai from his pouch and expertly deflected the shuriken wave with the knife. The moment the last shuriken had been blocked, Zabuza's emotionless voice rang out directly behind him.

"Impressive work, blocking those shuriken, Sharingan no Kakashi," drawled the tan ninja. "As a reward, I'll allow you to see me just this once. But the next time you lay eyes on me, will be the last time."

In a flash, Kakashi whipped around to face his opponent. He wasn't prepared for the unusual sight that befell him.

"_His eyes! Why are they closed?_"

"Your Sharingan won't save you today, Kakashi. Although you acted like you knew everything in that last match, you could never really predict the future or read my mind. All you did was use your little toy to hypnotize me," drawled Zabuza while vanishing once again into the mist.

Kakashi stiffened.

"I believe it went something like this. Using your keen observation skills, you mimicked my every move perfectly to emulate me. By doing that you caused me to doubt my own mind. With that done, you took advantage of it and made accurate predictions of my thoughts. Once my confusion and worry gave way to anger, you used a Genjutsu to make me see a shadow of myself standing next to you. You had the illusion hint at which hand seals to form, thus tricking me into believing that you foresaw my technique. However, I now know how to elude that mistake," came Zabuza's voice from somewhere within the mist. "Using this mist, I have now rendered your observational skills useless."

Suddenly, Kakashi felt an unseen blow connect with his face. With a grunt of pain Kakashi slid back a few feet from the force.

"_Damn it! My reactions are being slowed in this low visibility,_" thought Kakashi.

Zabuza chuckled.

"Also by keeping my eyes closed, as you have just saw, and keeping my distance. I am no longer running the risk of being hypnotized by your Sharingan," continued the hidden ninja.

"But why? You won't be able to see anything either!" pointed out Kakashi while straining to catch sight of anything in the dense mist.

"Have you forgotten? I'm a master of the Silent Homicide Assassination techniques. The sounds you make are more then enough for me to pinpoint your location," replied Zabuza. "Now prepare yourself Sharingan no Kakashi…"

* * *

"Damn it! I almost got one of those mirrors!" gasped Naruto between heavy breathing.

Sasuke turned to survey the blond keenly.

"_He doesn't look like he has much Chakra left. Overuse of the Shadow Replication must be more draining than expected,_" observed the Uchiha. "Naruto, can you keep going?" asked Sasuke after a moment.

"What are you talking about!? Of course I can!" resorted Naruto.

"_I sure hope so Naruto, because now I know how to fight this guy,_" Sasuke smirked.

The mirrors started to glow with a blinding flash of light again. In a flash, Sasuke formed some hand seals again.

"Naruto, run ahead! Once you've cleared the mirrors attack them from the outside!" ordered Sasuke urgently to his comrade.

"Okay, you got it!" cried Naruto with a determined grin.

The blond took off sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him.

"As if I'll let you!" cried Haku upon spotting the Naruto's approach.

A sudden flash of light from the mirrors blinded both Naruto and Sasuke. With them distracted, Haku quickly backhanded the startled blond onto his rear. Instantly he was back on his feet again. Naruto then dashed forward blindly with his eyes closed from the glare of light.

"I won't lose!" roared Naruto.

Desperately Haku moved to attack his unsuspecting prey.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" bellowed Sasuke before unleashing his attack.

Angrily Haku danced around the move and hurled a Senbon at Sasuke's just visible outline. The flying needle pierced Sasuke's left shoulder causing him to end the technique prematurely. Haku then put on a burst of speed and appeared before Naruto just as the blond would have cleared his mirror dome. Naruto only had a split second to take in the sight of Haku's imposing frame before a snap kick collided with his face. Naruto went into a rapid twirl in midair, then he landed with a groan on his now sore face a few feet away. Furiously, Naruto pounded the ground.

"Fuck!" cried Naruto heatedly.

"It's…ugh…okay, Naruto," said Sasuke with a grimace after removing the needle from his shoulder. "Let's try it one more time, this time we both make a break for it."

"Yeah, you got it!" agreed Naruto.

"_His chakra must have a limit. It's getting easier and easier to detect him as this fight goes on,_" thought Sasuke while climbing to his full height.

With a nod of readiness, both ninjas dashed in opposite directions.

"Don't waste your time!" shouted Haku at the sight. "I'll start with you!"

Quickly Haku hurled another Senbon at Sasuke's retreating from. The needle struck Sasuke in his leg's front tendon. Sasuke stumbled and let loose a cry of pure agony. With his movement halted, Haku proceeded to hurl a wave of Senbon. The needles logged themselves in several points near his arm muscles and collar bone. Fortunately the projectiles had only just narrowly avoided those critical areas, but Sasuke was still in extreme pain.

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto who had paused upon hearing the Uchiha's pain filled cries.

Naruto instantly regretted this when he too got wailed on by a wave of Senbon. Naruto had been fortunate enough to turn back around resulting in that wave logging into his upper back instead of the more lethal areas. Naruto cried out in agony as well then his face met the ground…

* * *

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at his predicament.

"_Damn, it's been a long time since I've been involved in such a dangerous battle. Hopefully Naruto and Sasuke will be alright for a little while longer_."

Kakashi closed his eyes.

"_Now think, where would I strike if I were a homicide specialist?_"

Then it hit him like a sucker punch.

"_Shoot! Sakura and Tazuna-san are in danger!_"

The aforementioned duo were warily keeping an eye on the forbidden mist, that loomed over them like a gray sea. Sakura tensed with a start and whipped around to find Zabuza standing directly behind Tazuna. Quickly the tan swordsman rushed them while reaching behind him for his blade. Zabuza had taken no more than two steps when Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of his alarmed prey. The tan ninja didn't let that stop him though.

"Tsk, too late!" bellowed Zabuza while swinging his sword in a beheading cleave.

Sakura screamed…

* * *

"_That was Sakura's voice! What's happening out there?_" wondered Sasuke. "_Crap, I've got to do something!_"

He shifted his gaze to the downed Naruto.

"Sakura-chan…" the blond mumbled while struggling to get up. "I'm coming…"

Sasuke's eyes widen in shock upon seeing Naruto rise to his feet.

"You should stay down when you've been beaten," said Haku once Naruto was upright.

"Shut up!" screamed Naruto.

A swirling aura of blue chakra then engulfed the blond. Naruto's weights begun to crumble under the pressure of his chakra's magnitude. With a cry, Naruto vanished in a flash of movement that was impossible for Sasuke to detect!

"What in the world!!" exclaimed the Uchiha with Haku's exact thoughts as he turned towards the masked fighter.

The Haku in the mirror vanished into high speed movement as well. From Haku's point of view, Naruto was easily moving just as fast as he could go.

Naruto dashed over to Haku and leaped to the air for a flying snap kick. Haku ducked under it and retaliated with an uppercut with a trio of Senbon wedged between his fingers. Naruto quickly flipped backwards before the blow could hit and swung his legs beneath him like a break dancer. He then boosted off with a brutal double stomp into Haku's chest. Haku flew backwards until he smashed into a mirror, which he quickly merged with before it could break.

As this was going on, Sasuke was still turning around in slow motion to the spot where Haku had been standing before the high speed match begun. The sight would have been comical to Naruto if Haku weren't rushing him at that moment. The blond quickly ducked under Haku's needle knuckled punch and countered with a head butt. Haku rose a few inches into the air. Naruto added to the chain by grabbing hold of Haku's leg and spinning him about. Quickly Haku threw a wave of Senbon at the blond, which collided with his left arm.

With a cry of pain Naruto let go of Haku's leg. The masked fighter sailed a few feet before skidding to a halt. Quickly Haku hurled another wave of the needles at the blond. Naruto took to the air with a high jump. Sadly, due to him being airborne, Haku was able to claim the speed advantage again. Naruto never saw it when Haku stomped on his back from the mirror directly above him. With a cry of pain, he plummeted to the ground. Naruto landed on all fours with a huff.

"Naruto! Behind you!" warned Sasuke.

His warning came too late though. Haku had already hurled a wave of Senbon at the hapless blond after warping to the mirror directly in front of him. They collided with loud thunks into Naruto's torso. The blond flew backwards onto his back.

"Naruto!" cried Sasuke in dismay.

"I don't know where that speed came from boy, but you won't be escaping from here alive!" said Haku darkly.

Sasuke approached and kneeled next to his battered comrade.

"Can you still stand, Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

"Yeah," murmured Naruto while slowly rising to a sitting position.

"Good, but don't waste anymore chakra. Wait until an opportune moment to strike, you're our best chance right now," ordered Sasuke.

"I know that…ugh!" Naruto fell back down and begun gasping for breath.

"_Damn it! At this rate we're done for! There has to be something I can do!_" Sasuke stood up to his full height. "_Somehow, my eyes are getting use to their movement. Maybe I can find a way to land a hit_."

"Since it's just you and me now, let's finish this," declared Haku.

In a flash, Haku switched mirrors and hurled a wave of shuriken at the Uchiha. Quickly Sasuke yanked a Senbon free from his body and started deflecting the projectiles one by one.

"_He's blocking them!?_" thought a shocked Haku.

Once he smacked the last one aside, Sasuke shank to one knee while wincing in pain.

"Get up you moron! I can't protect us both for long!" snapped Sasuke at Naruto's beaten body.

Naruto stirred, but he still couldn't stand up. With a curse Sasuke rose to deflect another oncoming wave of needles.

"_I'm aiming for critical areas but he keeps knocking them away,_" observed Haku. "_I'll need to try a new tactic_."

"Naruto!"

"I know, Sasuke! Just shut up!" bellowed Naruto heatedly.

The blond steeled himself, then with a cry of pain he climbed back to his feet with his arms dangling by his side. Sasuke nodded his approval then he blocked another wave of oncoming Senbon. Haku then vanished in a flash of movement.

"_Crap, where did he go!?_" thought Sasuke while moving protectively in front of Naruto who looked deadly pale. "Damn you, Naruto! You better not pass out or I swear!" threatened Sasuke.

"S-shut up ya jer…" Naruto slumped over Sasuke's shoulder.

"FUCK!" screamed Sasuke.

"Looks like that kid finally reached his limits," commented Haku from the mirror directly above Sasuke.

Haku chuckled. Quickly Sasuke hurled his Senbon at the image. But Haku was gone long before the projectile hit.

"I'm impressed with you both though. I've never encountered such spectacular movement before," complimented Haku from somewhere behind Sasuke.

Quickly Sasuke leaped aside with the noticeably lighter Naruto slumped on his back. The wave of Senbon passed harmlessly by.

"But this time, I'll stop you for sure," came Haku's voice again from directly in front of the bogged down Uchiha.

His eyes widened in horror.

"Your movement, reflexes and body should be nearing it's limit!" cried Haku.

Haku then begun speedily moving from mirror to mirror in an effort to confuse Sasuke.

"_Okay Sasuke, calm down. I have to stay focused or else it's all over for us. Concentrate, concentrate_, CONCENTRATE!!" cried Sasuke.

In a flash, he took to the sky using his chakra empowered legs to avoid Haku's next strike.

"Damn, missed again!" grunted Haku.

Sasuke touched down a few feet away and gently set Naruto down. He then glared balefully at Haku with a pair of…

"Sharingan!!" cried Haku with a start. "You're an Uchiha!?"

Sasuke didn't seem to hear him.

"_I saw it, his moves were as clear as crystal!_" thought Sasuke with a grim smile.

"I see, you must be one of the last survivors of a long lost clan. You're quite a guy, to have awakened that ability during battle. However, it's still not complete!" cried Haku.

Haku hurled a wave of Senbon that Sasuke easily dodged with a leap to the side. The mirror warrior then rushed at…

"Naruto! Damn, I won't make it in time!" realized Sasuke once he touched down.

In a flash, he charged on chakra fueled legs…

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Sakura shrilly.

Kakashi in question was holding a nasty looking cut on his chest with his right hand. Kakashi grunted in pain.

"You were a bit too slow, Kakashi. Did you desire to save these fools cloud you pathetic mind even more? Or did the mist cause you to misjudge your little rescue attempt?" taunted Zabuza with an insolent stare. "Even with that impressive eye, you're light-years away from being my equal!"

Kakashi glared with slowly closing eyes. His body craved a long never ending sleep. Zabuza chuckled at the sight.

"Oh this is perfect! Don't die on me yet Kakashi, I'm only just beginning to enjoy myself!" he declared before opening laughing.

Everyone glared scornfully at the laughing ninja. Zabuza wiped away a tear of laughter and rose one of his eyebrows, giving him a maniacal look.

"Don't worry about your little kids, Haku will finish them soon enough," Zabuza smirked. "You can tell them how sorry you were in the afterlife!"

Zabuza laughed some more.

"Liar! Sasuke-kun and Naruto won't be defeated by a guy like that!" spat Sakura.

"Exactly," added Kakashi in a much calmer tone than Sakura. "I believe in their strength. Like I said before, Naruto is the best rookie in our village when it comes to surprising people. And Sasuke hails from one of Konoha's most outstanding clans."

"What? You don't mean…" begun Zabuza with the first hint of worry touching his face.

"Yes. His name is Uchiha Sasuke and coursing through his veins is the advanced bloodline of legends. He is a genius ninja," confirmed Kakashi.

"_No way! He's a survivor of that tragic clan!? No wonder he improved so quickly,_" mused Zabuza. "I'm impressed, Kakashi. You have yourself a gem there, but it's the same for Haku. Haku's secret Jutsu has never been beaten by anyone. Anyway, I guess I'll end this little duel now."

Zabuza faded into the mist.

"Sakura! Stay here with Tazuna-san!" ordered Kakashi at the sight.

"Right!" compiled the pink haired defender.

Kakashi then charged into the mist in pursuit of his foe…

* * *

Naruto stirred upon regaining consciousness. With a groan he looked around for Sasuke. He was greeted with the sight of Haku laying face down on the ground and Sasuke standing protectively in front of the blond. Sasuke sensed Naruto's surprised stare and begun speaking.

"Geez, you moron. You always get in the way," grumbled Sasuke.

"You did it, Sasuke! Quick give me the play by…" Naruto ceased his cheery praise when he saw the spreading pool of blood around Sasuke's feet.

Weakly, Sasuke swiveled his head to gaze tiredly at Naruto.

"Hey, what's with that look…" wheezed Sasuke as a thin trickle of blood exited his mouth. "Moron…" he added with a weak smile.

His pain forgotten, Naruto sat upright.

"Why did you save me!?" demanded Naruto in a hushed tone.

"How should I know…"

Sasuke gazed skyward with glazed eyes as if viewing something only he could see. The truth was that the Uchiha was relieving memories of days long pass. Sasuke smiled to himself as his vision grew steadily dimmer.

"Heh, I…hated you…" said Sasuke.

"Then why?! Why did you save me!? I-I never asked for your help!!" wailed Naruto who was now standing upright.

"I don't know…my body just moved on its own…idiot…"

Sasuke fell backwards as his legs lost the will to support his weight. Time slowed as he descended and the Uchiha was almost positive that he saw his life flash before his eyes. He then landed into Naruto's arms due to the his move to catch his falling comrade.

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto in dismay.

Sasuke stared pass the face of his rival.

"That man…my brother…" he said absently. "I told myself…that I wouldn't die until I killed him…"

Sasuke weakly grasped Naruto jacket with trembling hands.

"You…don't you dare die…" demanded Sasuke in a voice barely above a whisper.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror, then he felt Sasuke's grip loosen on his jacket. Sasuke's arm dropped limply to the ground and his non seeing eyes closed into a peaceful slumber.

"S-Sasuke…" whispered Naruto sadly.

His eyes filled with mournful tears and he hugged Sasuke's lifeless body while rocking back and forth. For the first time in nearly four years, Naruto cried tears of sadness. The blond stiffened upon hearing the voice of Haku.

"That boy…in an effort to protect a precious person. He knew it was a trap and yet he shielded you from my attack anyway. He was a Shinobi who deserved respect," Haku looked away respectfully. "Is this the first time that a friend of yours has died?"

Naruto remained silent.

"Of course, it must be. Thus is the way of the Shinobi," continued Haku before fusing with his mirrors again.

"Shut up! Don't talk about him in past tense you bastard!" murmured a trembling Naruto. "I hated you too." said Naruto tearfully as he set Sasuke's body gently to the ground.

A ring of dust gathered around Naruto once this action had been done. The very mist surrounding him then turned into wispy clouds rising of vapor. Haku tensed at the sight.

"I won't forgive you!" said Naruto in a much stronger voice.

The entire dome begun to fill with vapor and Haku noticed a dramatic rise in temperature. The true eye candy however, was the swirling vapor ring surrounding Naruto. It revolved more furiously before giving way to a large display of blood red chakra. This sudden aura seemed to stretch with no limit towards the sky. The very ground begun to crumble under the pressure and jagged stones rose into the air before bursting into dust.

"I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!" roared Naruto savagely.

Haku shuttered at the sudden change that came over the boy. Naruto's hair became even more wild and spiky than normal and his canine fangs grew noticeably long and shaper than before. Naruto's irises then turned into a shade of crimson and his pupils narrowed into cat like slits. Naruto's finger and toenails also elongated and grew deadly sharp. Lastly, there was a slight increase in Naruto's muscle mass. Naruto's jacket seemed to cling more tightly than normal to the enraged boy's frame. Naruto growled like an untamed beast at the intimidated looking reflection of Haku.

"_What's with this chakra?! It feels so evil, this isn't normal! I've never felt such an intense thirst for blood,_" mused Haku darkly.

For just a moment, Haku swore he caught sight of the grinning head of some vicious animal in Naruto's aura. But it vanished too fast for Haku to be certain. Haku then gasped upon seeing the Senbon that were logged in the Naruto's body come free with a soft plopping sound. Naruto's cuts then rapidly regenerated until not even a scar remained.

"_No way! He's healing at such an incredible rate! What is he!?_"

Suddenly Naruto vanished in a burst of speed.

"_Shit! Here he comes!_"

Haku withdrew some Senbon and prepared himself for the worst. For a split second, Haku spotted Naruto two steps away. With a startled scream of horror, Haku hurled the needles at the blond. Naruto paused and released a roar causing a barrier of chakra to deflect the projectiles aside.

"No!" moaned Haku before warping to another mirror as quickly as he could.

Naruto effortlessly followed Haku's progress with his eyes.

"_Damn it! He can still see me and it doesn't look like direct attacks are going to work on him. In that case_…" thought Haku grimly.

Haku then begun rapidly moving from mirror to mirror in an attempt to confuse the blond. This time, Haku noted with satisfaction, Naruto didn't try to track his movement. Quickly Haku launched a wave of Senbon from the mirror directly behind Naruto. They connected with the Naruto's upper back, but Naruto roared causing the needles to dislodge themselves from him while also sending a counter wave of chakra. The wave hit with enough force to move all of the mirrors back a few inches, Haku was reeling. In a flash, Naruto was in front of the still recovering Haku. Naruto punched the mirror with enough force to smash it to pieces.

"Damn you! How about this!" cried Haku.

Haku separated from one of the shattered mirror shards directly above Naruto. He allowed gravity to propel him downward with the intent of driving a Senbon into Naruto's nerve center. However, Naruto had already fazed out of sight, in another burst of incredibly high speed, by the time Haku was in range.

"He's just toying with me!" growled Haku after touching down.

Naruto reappeared directly behind Haku who gave a start.

"_Oh no!_"

Haku tried to make a break for one of his other mirrors, but his effort was in vain. Naruto quickly took hold of Haku's right wrist with enough force to fracture it. Haku cried out in pain. Naruto then reared by his free right fist and charged it with chakra. With a roar Haku was being jolted by a wave of chakra while Naruto continued to hold onto his wrist. Haku felt as if his arm would come free of it's socket from the pressure of the shockwave…

* * *

Kakashi gave a start.

"_This chakra…is it Zabuza?! No, it's too terrible to be his! So that means…Naruto!_" realized the gray haired ninja. "_This is bad! The seal must be breaking! Wait, I don't think the seal has been broken yet. It looks like the seal has been weakened but only enough for some of the demon fox's chakra to leak out. I still have some time_."

Kakashi then unfastened a cylinder holster on his jacket's left breast. A scroll slid out of the slot into Kakashi's waiting hand. He tossed it into the air, where it begun to unravel itself. As it did this, Kakashi pressed his thumb to the cut on his chest until it was soaked with his blood. By this point, he was able to snag the descending scroll out of midair. Quickly he wiped his blood covered thumb onto the content. With that done, he begun to twirl the blood streaked paper around himself like a ballerina.

"Can you hear me Zabuza? Neither of us has time to waste," cried Kakashi as he twirled the paper about. "This may not suit your style, but let's just end this battle here with one attack."

Kakashi then tossed the scroll into the air where it raveled itself back up again. He then caught it and secured the string before clashing his hands into a prayer position with the scroll resting on his thumbs.

"Sounds interesting. Alright, but what can you do in this situation Kakashi? Show me!" drawled Zabuza.

* * *

"_Damn, I won't last much longer at this rate!_" mused Haku as he struggled to shield himself from Naruto's chakra with his own aura.

Naruto finally seemed to have gathered enough energy into his fist. With a growl, Naruto punched Haku with enough force to trigger an audible snap from Haku's neck bone. Naruto released Haku's, now swelling, wrist just before impact. The masked fighter went flying back while smashing through one of his mirrors as he went. He rolled for a little while upon hitting the ground and once he finally came to a stop, he didn't move. The other ice mirrors crumbled into shards due to Haku's nonexistent chakra reserves. Haku then climbed painfully to his feet. There was now a jagged crack in his mask. It also begun to crumble away.

Upon seeing Haku standing up again, Naruto took one step towards him before disappearing at frighteningly high speeds. He reappeared a split second later above Haku in midair with his fist reared back. Naruto allowed gravity to seize him as he sailed towards his prey.

"_Zabuza-sama…I'm sorry, but I cannot defeat this boy,_" Haku's mask crumbled away completely, exposing Haku's paled face.

The sight caused Naruto to gasp in alarm and he landed directly in front of Haku without attacking. The aura of chakra and all of the physical changes that overcame Naruto vanished. Naruto stared disbelievingly at Haku with his normal blue eyes.

"You're that herb guy…from the other day…" said Naruto hoarsely due to all the screaming he did.

"Why did you stop? I killed your precious friend, yet you can't kill me?" said Haku with a resigned look.

Naruto growled angrily at the mention of Haku's prior actions. With a cry Naruto slugged Haku as hard as he could. The formerly masked fighter fell over from the punch, but it felt more like a flyswatter compared to the sledgehammer blows Naruto had been striking him with before. Haku climbed to his feet and coughed up a small mouthful of blood.

"Where did all your power go? You won't be able to kill me with attacks like that," breathed Haku while wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth with his sleeve. "Isn't he a precious person to you?"

Naruto expression turned to one of sadness at what Haku was implying.

"There are people who make this mistake. Sparing their enemy's life out of pity, that does nothing for me, Naruto-san. Do you know what it's like, not living a dream? Could you even begin to imagine the pain of not being needed by someone?" questioned Haku darkly.

"What are you saying?" asked Naruto.

"Zabuza-sama has no need of a weak Shinobi. You have just taken away my reason for existing," replied Haku with a warm smile.

"Why? He's a bad guy who accepts money from criminals! Is that eyebrow less freak the only precious person you have!?" demanded Naruto with teary eyes.

"A long time ago, I did have people who were precious to me. My parents," confirmed Haku after a moment of silence. "I was born in a small snowy village a bit north of here. My parents were poor and they worked very hard to get by but…we were happy. My parents were very kind people until something bad happened that took our happiness away."

"Something bad? What?" asked Naruto curiously.

Instead of immediately answering, Haku stared at the blood on his sleeve.

"My father, killed my mother. Then he tried to kill me," replied Haku.

"Eh?"

"Mizu no Kuni was once a land of endless civil war. Those with advanced bloodlines came to be hated due to their roles in these wars."

"Advanced bloodlines?" echoed Naruto.

"Special techniques and abilities passed down from father to son or grandfather to grandchild within certain clans," explained Haku. "Because of these abilities, clans with them were often used as weapons in times of war. As a result, these clans were blamed for bringing misfortune and calamity to the country. Often, these bloodline users were assassinated after the war. In order to protect themselves, they had to hide the truth about their powers. For those whose secrets were discovered, only death awaited."

Haku shifted his gaze to Sasuke.

"I imagine that that boy also experienced much hardships growing up," predicted Haku. "All bloodline users are often feared. My mother was from one of those bloodline clans. She hid that fact and tried to live with my father. She most likely hoped that our peaceful way of life would continue forever but, father discovered our secret. To protect myself I had to kill him. Afterwards I fled into the frozen wilderness as an orphan. It was then that I came to understand that in this world, I am a person who is unwanted." said Haku sadly.

Naruto eyes widened in surprise.

"_He's the same as me!_" realized the blond.

"Naruto-san, you told me that you wanted to become the best ninja in your village and have everyone acknowledge you. Now, if someone who acknowledged you from the bottom of their heart appeared, wouldn't that someone become the most precious person to you?"

Naruto stared sadly at the ground.

"_Iruka-sensei…Elaine_…"

"Zabuza-sama took me in knowing that I was one of an advanced bloodline. The very abilities that everyone else hated, he desired them."

Haku allowed tears to fall freely down his cheeks.

"I was so happy," said Haku with a faraway smile. "_I'm sorry it came to this Zabuza-san. I'm sorry I wasn't able to become the weapon you sought_." Haku bowed his head sadly.

Haku then approached Naruto with his face expressionless. The blond tensed in preparation for an attack.

"Naruto-kun, I beg you. Please kill me," pleaded Haku softly once he was in range.

Naruto staggered backwards on trembling legs.

"Why are you hesitating?" asked Haku quietly.

"This is insane! You would die for someone who only thinks of you as a weapon!? How do you call that a precious person?!" demanded Naruto.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Haku.

"Um, well…"

Naruto was at a lost about how to answer that. It seemed wrong, but it also seemed right at the same time.

"Zabuza-sama had high expectations of me. He truly needed me and yet, I didn't fulfill my part. Zabuza-sama doesn't need me anymore. That's why I'm asking you, Naruto-san. Now, hurry."

* * *

Kakashi begun flashing through a series of hand seals with the scroll resting on either his hand or thumbs with each one formed.

"Doton Kuchiyose, Tsuiga no Jutsu!!" bellowed Kakashi.

He then smashed the scroll into the ground with enough force to crack the road's surface. The ground was then covered in inky letters that faded after a moment.

"Whatever you're trying is useless, Kakashi. You can't figure out where I am," taunted Zabuza. "But I know exactly where you are Kakashi." he added darkly.

At that moment, the ground begun to shake.

"Hm?" grunted Zabuza.

Abruptly, the ground in front of him exploded upwards in stone shards. Zabuza stared at this spot for a moment then suddenly a snarling dog popped out of the hole. It immediately tried to bite Zabuza's left leg but the tan ninja had quickly danced out of the way. However, his right leg was snared by a second dog that busted out of the ground.

"What!?" cried Zabuza in alarm.

He then sensed several presences surrounding him on all sides. Zabuza was then latched upon by several other dogs with each one being uglier than the last. Zabuza's arms and legs screamed in pain as they were pierced by the growling dog's fangs. He then heard Kakashi's approaching voice directly ahead of him.

"If your eyes and ears don't work, use your nose or so the saying goes," preached Kakashi. "This is what happens when you have your eyes closed in the mist. The Dogging Fangs Summoning is designed for just this purpose. What do you think, aren't they cute?" he teased.

Zabuza glare hatefully at Kakashi.

"I see. Well, anyway the reason why I allowed you to cut me earlier was so that my cuties could track you. Your weapons are now carrying my scent on them. Unlike ordinary dogs, my ninja dog's sense of smell is quite a bit keener. You were the one trapped in my Jutsu."

Zabuza growled.

"Your mist is clearing now. Looks like your future is death," taunted Kakashi.

"I'm sick of your bullshit!" bellowed Zabuza heatedly.

"Now now, don't be so foolish! There's nothing you can do in this situation you know. Your death is certain Zabuza. Your ambition was too great, it'll be your own undoing," chided Kakashi. "If I recall correctly, you attempted to assassinate the Mizukage. You failed of course, likewise with your coup d'état. You then abandoned Water Country and fled with your few remaining men. Of course, your name soon appeared in Konoha's Bingo book. Throughout the past few years, you've eluded capture from the hunter ninjas and performed assassinations assignments for money."

Zabuza's silent glare confirmed that Kakashi had guessed correctly.

"Zabuza, do you think that I have survived with my Sharingan alone? If so, then I'm going to show you my own original technique. I assure you it is not a copy."

Kakashi then formed a trio of hand seals before holding his palm upward. A ring of chakra then gathered around the gray haired ninja. The ring begun to give off electrical discharges which gathered itself onto Kakashi's palm. A sphere of crackling electrical energy formed which made a high pitched chirping sound as the ball stabilized.

"Lightning Edge!!" cried Kakashi.

"_What's this?! There's so much chakra in his palm, I can see it!_" observed Zabuza with wide eyes.

"You are too dangerous, Zabuza. Tazuna-san, who you're trying to kill, is this country's courage. The bridge he seeks to build is this country's hope. Your ambition sacrifices too many innocent people. That isn't something that a Shinobi should be doing," lectured Kakashi darkly.

"Heh, I don't give a damn!" quipped Zabuza malevolently. "I've fought long and hard for my ideals and that won't change!"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes dangerously. The crackling sphere then grew more intense.

"I'll tell you again. Give up Zabuza, you've lost," stated Kakashi.

* * *

Naruto stepped backwards again.

"I don't understand! You could've been recognized for something other than fighting! Is being strong the only reason for you to be alive?" demanded Naruto.

Haku merely smiled.

"The day I met you in the forest, I thought you were like me."

Naruto gasped.

"You of all people should understand exactly why I'm asking you to do this. I'm just sorry that you'll have to stain your hands."

"Is this the only way?" asked Naruto shakily.

"Yes," replied Haku simply.

Naruto grimaced and looked away with his eyes closed in contemplation.

"If we had met under different circumstances, we might've became friends," he murmured.

Naruto's eyes then snapped open with a determined fire in them and he vanished in a flash of high speed.

"_Naruto-san, thank you. You'll become truly strong,_" thought Haku with a pleased smile.

Suddenly, Haku gave a start.

"_Zabuza-sama!_" he thought desperately.

Just then, Naruto appeared in front of Haku and thrust his kunai at Haku's heart. Quickly Haku caught Naruto's fist with his good hand, drawing a startled oh from the blond.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-san. But I can't die just yet," apologized Haku with a genuine look of sadness on his face.

Haku then glared out the corner of his eye to some location in the lifting mist. Quickly he formed several hand seals with his swollen arm. Haku winced in pain with each seal made, but once he completed them another ice mirror formed. He quickly leaped into it and vanished in a blur of high speed…

* * *

"Oh, the mist is starting to clear!" observed Tazuna.

He turned towards Sakura, who was staring directly ahead.

"I think there are two people over there," said Sakura quietly. "It looks like they're staring at each other."

Tazuna looked as well.

"I can't see it very well, but I think you're right," said the elderly man. "But which one is Kakashi?"

"Oh! I see him moving!" cried Sakura suddenly.

Sure enough, the mist cleared enough for the duo to see Kakashi's washed out form charging towards Zabuza's. Sakura surprised expression turned to a look of awe upon seeing the sphere of energy in the gray haired ninja's hand.

Once Kakashi was in range, he quickly thrust his hand towards Zabuza's dog covered body. Just before the blow hit however, Haku leaped protectively in front of Zabuza. He quickly hurled a wave of Senbon at Kakashi's summoning scroll causing the dogs to dispel. With that done, a large shockwave rang out due to Kakashi's technique colliding with Haku's chest. Haku's heart ruptured and a large splatter of blood erupted from the impact point. Kakashi, Zabuza and the ground were instantly soaked in the fluid.

Everyone present stared on at the scene with shocked eyes. Haku's head dropped limply to his chest and he coughed up a large amount of blood. He then weakly grasped Kakashi's arm, which the gray haired ninja had not yet removed from Haku's heart, in a viselike grip.

"Zabuza-sama…" gasped Haku in a raspy voice.

Kakashi grunted in horror.

"My future is death eh?" taunted Zabuza with a laugh. "Looks like you're wrong again, Kakashi!"

* * *

"_Where did he go?!_" wondered Naruto while glancing every which way in search of Haku. "_And hey, the mist is clearing!_" realized the blond for the first time.

Naruto then spotted three shadowy figures not too far away.

"_Is that…there he is!_"

Quickly Naruto jogged closer to the group. He gave a start upon seeing the bloody scene before him.

"What happened? What's going on!?" breathed Naruto in a small voice he didn't recognize. "Is he…?"

Kakashi gazed into the staring eyes of Haku. They never blinked or even seemed to show signs of life at all.

"_This boy is already dead,_" realized Kakashi grimly.

Zabuza smirked.

"Great job, Haku!" Zabuza praised the corpse.

The tan ninja then grasped the handle of his sword. With a roar he started to swing the blade.

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Sakura in alarm.

"_He plans to cut through both of us!?_" realized Kakashi in shock.

"I've sure picked up a useful thing! Thank you for giving me this chance at the end, Haku!" cried Zabuza as he swung.

Quickly Kakashi embraced Haku's deceased body and took to the air with a high jump. Zabuza's blade cut through empty air. Kakashi then performed an array of aerobic flips backwards. He touched down a few feet away and gently laid Haku's body down.

"So you can still move even while carrying Haku eh?" taunted Zabuza with a chuckle.

"Why you! Unforgivable!" growled Naruto angrily while tensing as if to pounce.

"Naruto! Watch from there!" ordered Kakashi.

The elder ninja then pried his hand free of Haku's iron grasp. With that done, he gently closed Haku's non seeing eyes. Kakashi then raised his freed hand in a respectful prayer.

"This is my fight!" growled Kakashi with a livid glare at Zabuza.

With nobody in any immediate danger, Sakura turned towards Naruto.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" called Sakura with a happy wave.

Naruto's shoulder drooped and he became quiet.

"What's the matter? Is Sasuke-kun alright too?" asked Sakura with her smile still in place.

Naruto clenched his fists and his body begun to tremble. Unable to look Sakura in the eye, he glared at the floor with gritted teeth. Hot tears begun to slid down his cheeks.

"What's wrong? Where's Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura a second time with a worried frown.

Kakashi caught the meaning of Naruto's unusual silence and gazed sympathetically at the pink haired girl.

"Sakura…" he whispered while shaking his head.

Sakura finally got the message and grew pale. Tazuna turned towards her.

"I'll go with you. That way you won't be disobeying your Sensei's orders," said Tazuna.

Wordlessly Sakura took Tazuna's hand in her own. They then took off running in the direction Naruto came from. The blond kept his eyes averted from Sakura's the whole time. Kakashi watched the retreating duo until they faded into the still vanishing mist.

"Kakashi! This is no time for sight-seeing!" roared Zabuza catching the gray haired ninja's attention again.

Zabuza charged with his sword arm reared back for a swing. Quickly Kakashi spun on his palm to deliver a swift kick to Zabuza's cheek. Zabuza grunted in pain and staggered back a few steps. With an angry roar Zabuza charged again, only to be on the receiving end of a vicious power punch combo. After five brutal hits Zabuza's vision swam with stars. Quickly he tried to sweep Kakashi's legs from beneath him but Kakashi took to the air with a somersault. Zabuza's head was jerked back when it got caught in the evasive maneuver. Angrily he charged once more…

By this point Sakura and Tazuna had found Sasuke's battered body. Sakura gasped in shock and grew noticeably paler. Tazuna turned away from the sight of Sasuke's beaten frame. Sakura then dropped to her knees and cupped Sasuke's left cheek with her hand.

"He feels so cold…th-this isn't an illusion," whispered Sakura sadly.

"Please don't pay me any mind. It's best to let it out and cry," said Tazuna respectfully.

For a moment all was quiet, then Sakura absently spoke.

"I-I always used to score one-hundred percent on my ninja academy exams…"

"Hm?" grunted Tazuna.

"I've memorized all one-hundred of the Shinobi rules. I would always write the correct answer," continued Sakura while absently stroking Sasuke's face. "On one test, this question appeared. 'Write down Shinobi rule number twenty-five.' I wrote down the answer as usual," Sakura's voice broke.

"A Shinobi must keep all emotions within, n-no matter what the situation. Shinobi must make the mission their top priority. Shinobi must possess a heart that never shows tears."

Sakura then begun to convulse in silent sobs. Tazuna also felt the coming of tears at the sight.

"_So this is the way of the Shinobi. It's too harsh,_" realized Tazuna darkly.

"Sasuke-kun…yeraahaa" wailed Sakura.

Naruto felt as if his heart would break when he heard Sakura's sobbing. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"_Why did this have to happen…it should've been me not him_…" thought Naruto sadly. "Sasuke…"

Zabuza and Kakashi touched down from a high jump. Currently, the tan ninja had two kunai logged deeply enough in his left arm to pierce the bone. That arm hung limply by his side with thick blood oozing from the wound. Zabuza was breathing heavily in a crouched position.

"_Why…why can't I keep up with him?_" thought Zabuza tiredly.

He glared hatefully into Kakashi's frosty eyes.

"Damn it!" roared Zabuza while charging once more.

Once in range he reared back his good arm but, before he could even think to swing it forward Kakashi smashed Zabuza's face with a backhand powerful enough to send him reeling.

"Ugh…" moaned Zabuza with rapidly blurring vision.

Kakashi went into a quick spin and smashed his elbow into the same spot. Zabuza staggered once more. He then begun trembling in both anger and fear! He desperately swung his blade forward but Kakashi stepped out of the way of the wild swing. Zabuza then brought his blade up and down with enough force to left a spider web of cracks on the impact point. However, Kakashi was nowhere in sight. Zabuza then felt a hand grab hold of his left shoulder. His arm instantly became inflamed by the touch due to his wound.

"You can't beat me as you are now," stated the cold voice of Kakashi. "You haven't noticed it yet, what true strength is that is."

Zabuza stiffened. Quickly Kakashi drew two kunai from his pouch which he proceeded to twirl around his index and lead fingers.

"This is goodbye…Devil!" growled Kakashi coldly after gripping the handles of both knives.

In wide eyed horror, Zabuza swung his blade backwards just as Kakashi was thrusting his kunai towards Zabuza's neck. Kakashi grunted when he saw the blade coming and redirected his attack into Zabuza's sword arm instead. Just like the other arm, this arm's bone had been pierced. Zabuza released his grip on his sword, which went flying harmlessly to the side. However, he was still able to knock Kakashi away from him due to the momentum of his prior attack. Kakashi deftly caught himself in a handstand and flipped gracefully back onto his feet.

"Now both arms are useless," declared Kakashi as he rose to his full height. "You won't even be able to form hand seals now."

Zabuza tensed in preparation to launch a barrage of kick but then a voice rang out, drawing the attention of Naruto, Kakashi and Zabuza.

"Oo oo what's this? You're getting your ass kicked. This is most disappointing, Zabuza," taunted a short stocky man with a bandaged arm.

Gatoh had arrived! Behind him stood a large group of grinning thugs and rogue samurai. All of them were grinning mischievously at the trio.

"_Who are these guys? There's so many of them,_" thought Naruto in confusion.

"Gatoh, why are you here? And what's with all these men?" demanded Zabuza tiredly.

"Heh, the plan has changed a bit. Sorry Zabuza, but I'm going to have to kill you here," said Gatoh with a sneer.

"What was that?" demanded Zabuza darkly.

"Don't take it so personally, Zabuza. Hiring ninja is expensive after all, so I just get missing ninjas like yourself to do my dirty work for me. Naturally I was hoping you two would kill each other so I wouldn't have to pay you at all. If that didn't work I was going to kill you anyway," explained Gatoh. "But out of all my hit men, you've did the worst job. Calling you a Devil of the Mist is a joke!" he taunted.

His goons all burst out laughing.

"Kakashi…" murmured Zabuza, drawing the attention of said ninja. "I'm sorry. This fight is over. Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, there's no reason for me to fight you."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Kakashi.

Gatoh then approached Haku's corpse.

"Oh yeah, I owe this one for breaking my arm," said Gatoh with a smile.

He then kicked Haku as hard as he could in the face. Naruto gave a start while Zabuza and Kakashi merely glared. Gatoh ignored them and begun prodding Haku's face with his cane.

"Heh, this one is already dead!" chuckled Gatoh.

"You bastard! What do you think you're doing!" roared Naruto in fury.

The blond then tried to rush Gatoh with the intention of pounding every square inch of him he could reach. Kakashi grabbed Naruto in a body lock.

"Naruto! You mustn't jump in like that!" ordered Kakashi.

"Hey you! Are you going to say anything?" demanded Naruto while glaring at Zabuza.

"Shut up, kid. Haku is already dead," replied Zabuza quietly.

"Don't give me that! Don't you feel anything at all after what he did!?" bellowed Naruto.

"Just like I was used by Gatoh, I used Haku. That's all it was, nothing more," resorted Zabuza. "I've said it once before. We Shinobi are nothing more than tools. All I wanted was his abilities, not him! I have no regrets."

"You…surely you don't really mean that?" growled Naruto darkly.

Kakashi placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Stop, Naruto. There's no reason to fight him anymore plus…"

Naruto jerked his shoulder away from Kakashi's grasp.

"Shut up! He's still my enemy!" cried Naruto furiously.

Zabuza glared at Naruto out the corner of his eye. Naruto wasn't intimidated though.

"He really loved you! He loved you enough to willing jeopardize his own life for you! And yet, you're really going to stand there and tell me you feel nothing!? Huh? Answer me you bastard!!" screamed Naruto as tears rolled down his cheeks. "If I become as strong as you, will I really become like you? He-he threw away his life and dreams so you could continue with yours! But you still call him nothing more than a tool! That's too sad…"

Naruto was sobbing now.

"Kid…" called Zabuza in barely a whisper.

Naruto then noticed the ground in front of him being pelted by droplets of water. Zabuza was also crying.

"You don't need to say anymore," said Zabuza tearfully. "It pained Haku to have to fight you. He fought not only for me, but for you guys too. I can understand. He was too kind. In the end, I'm glad I got to meet you guys."

Zabuza then bit into the clothe wrapped around his mouth. It unraveled and fell to reveal Zabuza's lower face. His mouth was full of razor sharp teeth.

"Yeah kid, you may be right. A Shinobi is still human. We could never truly become emotionless tools. I've lost that battle," he said with a shark like grin. "Kid, lend me your kunai!" ordered Zabuza while glaring at Gatoh.

"Yeah," compiled Naruto sadly before tossing the knife towards Zabuza.

He quickly caught it in his teeth. Immediately, Zabuza rushed Gatoh who turned around and ran like a puppy with it's tail between it's legs.

"Ahh, quick kill him!" cried Gatoh fearfully to his thugs.

"Yeah!" cheered the thugs.

"What can one badly injured ninja possible hope to do against these numbers?" cried one of them confidently.

That same goon was now falling lifelessly to the ground due to Zabuza's dashing slash with the kunai in his mouth. Zabuza easily did the same to three more of them before one attacked with a scimitar. Zabuza vaulted over him with a forward flip and landed directly in the mist of the attackers. He then begun bobbing and weaving in some sort of wild dance while landing kicks and slashes whenever the opportunity arrived. Seven more goon were felled before one of them finally wounded the tan ninja with a spear to the back. Zabuza grunted in pain and proceeded to muscle his way through the thugs in an effort to get at his true target.

Gatoh, who was standing at the end of the bridge over a thirty foot drop, gasped in horror at the sight of Zabuza headed towards him.

"Ahh, a Devil!" squealed the piglet that was Gatoh.

Gatoh cried out in pain when Zabuza stabbed him close to where his heart was. The tan ninja had only just missed the vital organ. Gatoh coughed up a bit of blood, but it was Zabuza who took the real damage. Several spears were being rammed into his back from behind causing him to cry out.

"Curse you! If you want to go to the same place as your friend that badly then consider it done!" growled Gatoh.

"Unfortunately, I don't plan on going to the same place as Haku," murmured Zabuza.

He staggered towards Gatoh with a grin on his face.

"Stay back! You won't survive!" threatened Gatoh while retreating to the edge of the bridge.

Zabuza ignored him and spoke up.

"No, you and I are going to hell together! There, even the remarkable Devil of the Mist can become a real devil. Look forward to it! We'll have plenty of time to see if I'm just a baby devil then!" cried Zabuza maniacally.

Zabuza then clamped down on the kunai that was still logged in Gatoh's chest and yanked it upwards before pulling it out. He then sliced and diced Gatoh again and again with the knife before finishing him off with a upwards trust right into his vocal cord. Gatoh's lifeless body fell over the bridge's edge.

Everyone stared at Zabuza in a stunned silence. Then flinched when he glare at them as if to say 'who's next?' Fearfully, they cleared a path for him. With a tired sigh, Zabuza dropped the kunai from his mouth and staggered towards Haku's body.

"Haku…" gasped Zabuza while willing his blurring vision to clear.

After five lumbering steps, Zabuza shank to his knees. He gazed longingly at Haku's body with sad eyes.

"This is goodbye, Haku…I thank you for everything you've done for me…I'm…sorry…"

Zabuza collapsed face down. Naruto looked away sadly at the sight.

"Don't look away," instructed Kakashi at that moment. "This is the end of a man who led a hard life."

"Yeah," said Naruto while willing his gaze not to falter again…

* * *

There was nothing but an inky black darkness at first. Then slowly, the cloudy blue sky came into focus.

"_Am I dead?_"

A soft weeping sound drew his attention.

"Sasuke-kun…" came a familiar voice.

"_Sakura? So I'm alive…_"

"Sakura…you're heavy," complained Sasuke tiredly.

Sakura bolted upright with a start. Her tear stained face looked worse for wear, but still managed to appear cute. She stared at Sasuke with disbelieving eyes.

"Sasuke-kun?" she breath.

Sasuke blinked and stared keenly at Sakura. Tazuna gasped in mounting excitement. Before the Uchiha knew it, Sakura was squeezing the life out of him in a tear-filled embrace.

"Sasuke-kun!" wailed Sakura with tears of happiness.

"Hey…Sakura stop…that hurts!" groaned Sasuke.

Tazuna chuckled while wiping away a tear of happiness.

"_That's so great Sakura!_" mused Tazuna proudly.

Once Sakura finally let go of him, Sasuke gingerly climbed to a sitting position.

"Oh, don't move yet!" begged Sakura with instant worry.

Sasuke ignored her and grasped his throbbing shoulder with a wince.

"Where…where's Naruto and that masked kid?" asked Sasuke.

"Naruto's fine and the masked kid is dead," replied Sakura sadly.

Sasuke gave a start.

"Dead? Naruto killed him?"

Sakura shook her head in the negative.

"I'm not sure, but I think he died protecting Zabuza," explained Sakura while nodding towards Haku's lifeless body.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow upon seeing the goons but he didn't question it yet.

"I had faith in you Sasuke-kun! It amazing that you were able to avoid getting hit in critical areas!" praised Sakura with a touch of her old vigor back.

She then stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Naruto!" she called drawing everyone's eye. "Look look, Sasuke-kun is alright! He's alive!" she cried.

Naruto's mouth formed an O of surprise at the sight of his rival who was indeed very much alive.

Reluctantly, Sasuke waved at Naruto. Naruto smiled excitedly and turned around to gaze at Haku's body. Zabuza's words stirred the true purpose of Haku's fight with them.

"_I see…he was only testing us…thank you, Haku. The training won't be wasted_," thought Naruto with a teary smile.

"So Sasuke is alright. That's great," said Kakashi with a relieved smile.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" cried one of the goons who stood completely forgotten by the others.

"You cocky bastards are too relaxed!" added another heatedly.

"Damn ninja! You killed our meal ticket!" chimed in a third.

"You guys are dead! Now we'll have to pillage the town and take everything of value!" growled a fourth.

The goons begun to cheer in agreement at that idea.

"Damn, this is bad," observed Kakashi warily.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, don't you have a technique that can beat all of them?" asked Naruto urgently.

Kakashi nodded.

"The problem is that I used up too much chakra," explained Kakashi.

"Let's go!" cried a goon at that moment.

The others roared before charging at the battle worn ninjas. The mass was halted when an arrow landed with a thunk in front of them. Everyone turned towards the source to find Inari holding a crossbow. Standing directly behind him was the townspeople and on either side of Inari stood…

"Elaine, Domino, Genmaru!" cried Naruto happily.

"Hey there! Long time no see, Naruto!" declared Domino with her confident grin in place.

Elaine and Genmaru chuckled as well.

"Heroes always show up at the last minute right, Nii-san?" quoted Inari while rubbing his nose with a grin.

Everyone then turned towards the goons.

"You guys have two choices, you can either leave quietly…" begun Elaine.

"Or we'll have to make you!" added Genmaru.

"And boy are we going to make you if you pick option B," concluded Domino with a laugh.

"Yeah!" cried the townsfolk while brandishing axes, sickles and hoes.

"Inari…you guys…" said Tazuna with teary eyes.

All of the goons paled at the sight.

"_Heh, guess I'll add a helping hand to the mix!_" decided Naruto while forming a seal. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried.

In a poof of smoke, four more Narutos appeared. The goons cried out in alarm.

"_I can do that_," mused Kakashi while lazily forming a seal. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu, Kakashi version!"

Like Naruto's Bunshin, he when up in smoke. However when it cleared, there were nearly sixty Kakashis on the road. The goons screamed at the sight of this one.

"So, you want some of this!?" taunted all of the gray haired ninjas.

That did the trick. All of the goons bolted back to the boat from whence they came.

"We did it!" cried Inari happily.

Everyone erupted into a storming of cheering and stamping. Tazuna had never been prouder of his friends in family. As the citizens celebrated their independence, Kakashi approached Zabuza's body.

"Looks like it's over…" said Zabuza quietly.

"Yeah," agreed Kakashi.

"Kakashi, I have a request."

"What is it?" asked Kakashi curiously.

"I want…to see his face."

Kakashi re-covered his Sharingan with his forehead protector. Then with the faintest hint of a smile he nodded.

"Sure."

The town grew deadly quiet as Kakashi stooped to remove all the spears from Zabuza's back. Once finished, Kakashi picked up and carried Zabuza bridal style to his subordinate. He gently laided Zabuza next to Haku and moved back to join the others.

"Thank you, Kakashi," said Zabuza gratefully once this had been done.

Suddenly tiny snowflakes begun floating from the sky.

"It's snowing?" noticed one villager in surprise.

"Strange, snow at this time of year," commented another.

Zabuza shifted his gaze to Haku.

"_Are you crying, Haku?_" wondered Zabuza with a smile. "You have always been by my side, all this time. I still want to be by your side even in the end."

A tear rolled down Zabuza's cheeks and with a grunt of pain he slow raised his hand to cup Haku's cheek.

"If I could…I'd like to go to the same place as you…"

Bright sunlight beamed down upon the duo making Haku's beautiful features even more pronounced. With a content smile, Zabuza drew his last breath.

The Shinobi who was born in snow, departed this world in snow. With him went the person he cherished the most. That day, everybody cried…

* * *

It had been a week since that tragic day. During that time the townspeople not only finished constructing the bridge, but they had also erected to monuments to both Zabuza and Haku upon a hill overlooking the ocean. Their graves were marked by two crucifixes as well as Zabuza's sword which stood magnificently by its' master. Currently both Team Seven and Team Nine were paying their respect to the dead.

"Kakashi-sensei, were these two right about ninjas? Being tools and all?" asked Sakura suddenly.

"Well, a Shinobi isn't suppose to pursue his own goals. Existing as a tool is the most important thing," replied Kakashi. "That's true even for Konoha."

Naruto turned from the graves to stare at Kakashi keenly.

"Is that really what it means to become a true ninja? Cause you know, I don't like it at all!" complained Naruto.

"Me neither!" added Domino with a frown.

Sasuke stared at Kakashi as well.

"Do you believe their method is right too, Sensei?" asked Sasuke.

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, every ninja does have to live while dealing with that issue. Just like Zabuza and that boy."

"I suppose that's the way of things," agreed Genmaru solemnly.

For a moment all was silent.

"Okay!" cried Naruto suddenly. "I've just decided!"

"Hm?" echoed the group.

"I'm going to try to become a ninja in my own way. Also, I'm going to run straight down a path of no regrets!" declared Naruto with a grin.

Everyone smiled…

* * *

The following morning, everyone gather at the completed bridge to see Naruto and company off on their journey home.

"It's thanks to you all that the bridge has been completed but, this is pretty sad," said Tazuna.

"Do take care," requested Tsunami with a warm smile.

"Right. And thank you for everything you've done for us," said Kakashi grateful with a smile.

"Don't worry, Mister Tazuna!" said Naruto with a grin.

Tazuna smiled at the use of his name.

"We'll come visit you guys again one day," continued the blond.

Inari begun to tremble.

"You promise?" asked Inari in a shaky voice.

Naruto also begun to tremble.

"Inari, you're sad too right? It's alright to cry remember?" reminded Naruto.

"I'm not going to cry. But you can cry too, Nii-san!" said Inari.

"Okay, fine," said Naruto proudly.

Both although they agreed to it, neither wanted to be the first person to cry. Finally Naruto turned around with a teary 'later!' Then they both started crying at the same time.

"_Geez, quit acting so tough_…" thought Sakura with a twitchy eyebrow.

Elaine and Domino chuckled.

With that said, they all set off for home.

"That boy changed Inari's heart and Inari changed the villager's hearts. That boy gave us a bridge towards hope called 'courage.' Speaking of which, we need to name this bridge don't we?" said Tazuna with a smile.

Everyone nodded.

"Well in that case, I have the perfect name for it," continued Tazuna.

"Oh? What is it?" asked Giichi curiously.

"How does the Great Naruto Bridge sound?"

Tsunami chuckled.

"That's a good name," she said.

"You sure about that name?" asked Giichi with a amused smile.

Tazuna laughed.

"This name is in hope that the bridge will never crumble and will one day become a super famous bridge that is known throughout the world!"

* * *

"All right! Let's get home fast so I can have Iruka-sensei by me some ramen!" declared Naruto vigorously. "Also, I have to tell Konohamaru all about my legendary feats!"

"You sure you want to do that? He might try to fight you again," pointed out Domino with a laugh.

"That's our Konohamaru for you!" added Elaine cheerfully.

Sakura looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Then I'll…" begun Sakura while glancing hopefully at Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke-kun, how about a date when we get back?"

"No thanks," declined Sasuke without turning around.

Sakura's shoulder slumped in defeat.

"But…" she begun before Naruto cut her off.

"Hey hey! How about me?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"No way! Shut up, Naruto!" snapped Sakura before yanking on his cheeks.

"Itai itai itai!" wailed Naruto.

Everyone laughed.

"Poor Naruto, but I know someone who could go out wit…" begun Domino.

"Do you ever shut up!" cried Elaine before angrily chasing Domino about.

Domino laughed the whole time.

"_Friends, you got to love em,_" mused Genmaru with a smile.

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo, it's you know who. Aninene!! Okay, I'm really mad right now, I started working on this chapter two weeks ago and my wrist decides that that was a good time to swell up like a balloon. Anyway my doctor said that I wasn't allowed to do any activities with my hand until the swelling went down. However, it took over a week and a half before that happened!

Anyhow, I'm happy to say that this is the new longest chapter of the lot. This time I gave Naruto a new ability to keep the game fresh and exciting. Here's an in-depth look at how I pulled this off. First off, I had Naruto undergo the tree climbing exercise using weights. Now you guys probably already figured this out, but Naruto's newfound power is the incredible amount of speed that he generates when he molds chakra into his legs.

Unlike how Rock Lee (for those who know who I'm talking about) has high physical speed. Naruto gains his speed from chakra only. His normal physical speed has indeed risen a bit, but not all that much. Just to clear that up.

I love you guys! This time we have two reviewers, whoo hoo!! Okay let's rock!

zerodragon: I wish I knew myself, but I'm glad that you submitted one. Thank you very much!! So what did you think of Naruto's new found strength? I won't tell you what they are yet, but thanks to his insane levels of speed he's going to be performing a lot of special techniques of mine. The best part of all is that most of them are going to appear in my super fight scene that I have in store for you guys in exactly four more chapters. :)

CodeKyuubi: Ah ha, I was wondering where Benny had disappeared to. Cool new name you have there. I'm glad you enjoyed the power struggle in the last chapter. I just couldn't resist showing off a little bit of my OC's special techniques early. Domino and Elaine's scenario was especially fun to write. Plus I enjoyed having Domino poke some fun at Sakura and Elaine's love interests during the bath scene. I won't tell you exactly when the NarutoxElaine pairing will be, but I've already written how I want to do it. Trust me, you guys won't forget that scene in a hurry lol! XD

Did I say I was mad before, scratch that. These reviews really made my day. Please you guys, submit one whenever you have a moment. I love receiving them just as much as writing the fic. (Which is a lot) Plus the more you review the faster I write. I've clocked my exact speed for this chapter to be only two days of writing using only my right hand. It's just my stupid wrist that's slowing me down other wise you guys would be getting a new chapter every two to three days.

Ah, the blasted disclaimer again. Need I say it? I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything else belongs to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto.

Next up, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Rank after tree climbing.

Naruto - D Plus Rank after unlocking speed with a Focus Gauge of 20/100

Naruto - C Plus Rank under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Sakura - D Minus Rank after tree climbing with a Focus Gauge of 30/100

Sasuke - D Rank after tree climbing.

Sasuke - D Plus Rank after awakening Sharingan with a Focus Gauge of 10/100

Haku - C Rank

Haku - B Minus Rank using Mirrors

Haku - C Plus Rank from tiring.

Okay, it's almost time for the 'big test' for those who know what I'm talking about. Next chapter is something of a breather and humor phase for the group before the exam.

One last note. I've revamped my profile so now you guys can check there everyday to see how much of the next chapter is completed. I'll post an accurate percentage each day that changes at midnight. It'll show my health condition and how likely I'll be able to post on schedule as well. Til the next chapter, ta ta now!


	7. A New Saga Begins!

**A New Saga Begins!**

**Enter the Chuunin Exam!**

Nearly a week had passed since Naruto and Company had returned to Konoha. Needless to say, Team Seven and Team Nine had been rewarded handsomely for their efforts in Water Country. The enormously positive feedback from the townsfolk had been a major boost to both team's reputations throughout the village. Tazuna and friends were going to be set for quite awhile thanks to their efforts.

For now, Sakura and Sasuke were waiting impatiently for both their chronically tardy sensei and Naruto to arrive as agreed upon. The duo were leaning against the hand rails of an old rickety bridge that linked the two sectors of Konohagakure. Suddenly Naruto appeared in front of Sakura, seemingly out of thin air.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" greeted the blond loudly.

The pink haired girl blinked once before shrieking in fright. Naruto and Sasuke covered their ears while wincing in pain.

"Damn it, Naruto! Don't do that!" roared Sakura angrily.

The blond chuckled while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Ever since learning how to increase his speed to extreme levels, Naruto had been annoying the hell out of Sakura by popping up unexpectedly as shown. The blond wasn't doing it on purpose, but it was entertaining to see Pinky's varying reactions to his arrivals.

"Sorry about that," apologized the speed demon with a smile.

It turned to a frown once he caught sight of Sasuke. The two rivals glared at each other before looking away determinedly. Sakura glanced nervously back and forth between them before slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"_Not again! These two have been acting like this ever since we got back from Wave. They're making it hard to be around them,_" thought Sakura in annoyance. "_I wish Kakashi-sensei would hurry up and come already_."

The trio then settled down to wait for the arrival of Kakashi. It wasn't until nearly an hour later that the gray haired ninja finally showed up.

"Hey guy! Good morning," he greeted with a cheery wave from atop the bridge's overhead beam.

Everyone glared at him.

"What? I got lost today," lied Kakashi with a sweat drop.

"Liar!" accused Naruto and Sakura together as usual.

Kakashi sighed and hopped down to join the others on ground level.

"Ano sa Ano sa, Kakashi-sensei! Lately we've been doing nothing but easy missions! So can we like do a more exciting one today?" begged Naruto with hopeful eyes.

"Naruto, I thought you might say something like that. What was my answer the other nine times you asked me?" replied Kakashi in irritation. "Why can't you be more like Sasuke?"

Naruto glared at Kakashi before turning around to give Sasuke the evil eye.

"_Damn him! Always making me look bad in front of everyone! I won't lose!_" thought Naruto angrily.

Sasuke merely stared back with his usual 'you're an idiot' look. Sakura just looked plain annoyed. The sight prompted Naruto to clench a fist while glancing upwards dreamily. The blond imagined himself being the one saving a pathetic looking version of Sasuke. Naruto was so caught up in his vision that he failed to notice the others walking ahead without him.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing? Let's go!" ordered Kakashi, breaking him from his wishful musings.

"Huh? Okay, wait for me!" he cried.

"Geez Naruto, you're so annoying today!" snapped Sakura with a frown.

Naruto groaned…

* * *

They spent the remainder of the day doing simple missions. The first one was to pick weeds from an elderly lady's garden. However, in Naruto's determination to out perform Sasuke, he ended up accidentally picking her prized medical herbs instead. The lady pounded Naruto, who screamed like a girl the whole time.

The second job was to pick up litter from the river behind the Hokage monument. This time the blond had accidentally stepped into the deep section where the current was strongest. Poor Naruto was very nearly swept away over the waterfall. Fortunately Sasuke managed to save him, much to the blond boy's annoyance.

During the last job however, Naruto had been dragged by the huge dog he was walking, into the village's trap field. The dog emerged relatively unharmed, but Naruto ended up getting slightly burned by the mines hidden in the ground. Were it not for the fact that Naruto was far away from the explosions he could've been in much worst shape than a few burnt hairs.

In the end, Naruto ended up being carried home by Sakura and Sasuke.

"Naruto, you shouldn't push yourself so much!" scolded Sakura.

"Heh, can't you even take care of yourself?" added Sasuke with a smirk.

Naruto angrily relieved himself from his comrades shoulders.

"Sasuke!" roared Naruto while moving to strangle his sworn rival.

He was halted by an arm barring his path. Naruto turned his attention to the owner to find Sakura glaring at him with her fist raised threateningly.

"If you don't calm down, I'll finish you myself!" growled Sakura.

"Yes, mama," complied Naruto meekly while twiddling his fingers.

Kakashi sighed.

"Teamwork seems to be suffering lately. That and Naruto is whipped," grumbled the gray haired ninja with a frown.

"Right, what Sensei said! And you're the one ruining our team wo…I AM NOT WHIPPED!!" roared Naruto with a vein throbbing in his temple.

Kakashi looked innocently towards the sky while Naruto glared at him. Sasuke then caught Naruto's attention.

"You're the one ruining our teamwork, moron. If you want me to stop making you look bad…then become stronger than me," challenged Sasuke darkly.

Naruto glared hatefully at his rival.

"I'll take you on right now, hotshot!" shot back Naruto angrily.

Sasuke turned around and folded his arms.

"Don't bother, you're not even worth dirtying my hands over."

Sakura looked back an forth between the glaring Naruto and the decidedly calm Sasuke fearfully.

"_They're even worst off than before! I hope they don't start fighting!_" thought Sakura nervously.

Sasuke clenched his teeth while thinking of the fight with Haku.

"_Damn it! I can't take this anymore! There are lots of guys out there who are stronger than me! I can't be wasting time doing these childish missions!_" thought the Uchiha.

Kakashi rolled his eyes skyward during the exchange. He stiffened when he caught sight of a bald Eagle circling overhead.

"_I see…looks like it's time,_" he mused darkly. "Let's call it a day, guys. I need to go submit this mission report and collect our money."

"Hmp, well then I'm going home," declared Sasuke moodily before turning on his heels and striding away.

"Um, wait up, Sasuke-kun!" called Sakura after a moment of thought. "Let's train together, just the two of us," suggested Sakura shyly.

"Sakura, if you have time to bother me than go practice a technique or two. Frankly you're less useful than Naruto," Sasuke bluntly stated in exasperation.

Sakura was crushed.

"I'm less useful than Naruto?" she echoed in a small voice with her shoulders slumped gloomily. "_He's right, in every mission I always do the least_."

Sasuke strode away silently.

"Forget about that jerk, Sakura-chan! Let's train together!" suggested Naruto cheerfully.

Kakashi abruptly vanished in a poof of smoke drawing Naruto's attention. Sakura was too shamed by the thought of being weaker than Naruto to care.

"_Kakashi-sensei left. I wonder if he did it so I could be alone with Sakura-chan,_" thought the blond with warm cheeks.

Suddenly Naruto heard the sound of something scraping the floor behind him. He turned towards the source to find a cardboard box that had been painted to look like a stone. However there were two eye holes poked out in one side. Naruto's eyebrow twitched in irritation.

"_That's suppose to be a rock?_" though the blond in annoyance.

Deciding to play along, Naruto begun jogging in circles. The box followed his every move. Finally Naruto whipped around and pointed at his shadow.

"What kind of rock is square with two holes! I can see right through that, Konohamaru!" cried Naruto.

"Not bad. That's just what I expected from the man I view as my rival!" came Konohamaru's voice with a laugh.

The box then begun glowing with a blinding glare of light.

"What?" cried Naruto while shielding his eyes.

There then came three loud explosions. The box burst into fragments and three colorful clouds of smoke rose into the air. Naruto had to admit, the sight was impressive. That is, until he heard coughing. The smoke cleared to reveal Konohamaru and two other kids hacking with tears streaming down their eyes.

"You guys…used…too many…explosives!" groaned Konohamaru between coughs.

Once they stopped, they immediately jumped to their feet.

"With the sexiness of an adult, behold Kunoichi Moegi!" self introduced one of them while striking a pose.

Moegi had red, gravity defying hair that was tied carelessly into two pigtails. Her cheeks seemed to have taken on a permanent rosy pigment that suited her dark eyes well. She was dressed in a pink T-shirt with tan pants and a long red scarf. Perched upon her forehead were a pair of goggles that looked a lot like the pair Naruto used to wear.

"I love assembling models. I'm Udon!" repeated another while also striking a pose.

This one had short brown hair and a pair of thick glasses that sat on the bridge of a running nose. Udon was wearing a long blue jacket and a pair of tan pants as well. Like Moegi, he too was donning a pair of green goggles.

"And I am the village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!" finished Konohamaru with a pose.

Like the others, he too wore goggles.

"With the three of us together, the Konohamaru squad is here!" they all cried while striking one last pose.

"I figured as much…what's with the goggles?" asked Naruto without much enthusiasm.

"Ain't it obvious? We're copying the old you, bro!" replied Konohamaru with a grin shared by his lackeys as well.

"Oh, right…"

"Hey what's with that!? You're getting pretty cold lately, man!" pointed out Konohamaru reproachfully.

"Right…so what do you want?" asked Naruto in the same lackluster tone.

"See, he did it again!" complained Konohamaru to his friends.

Moegi spoke up hopefully.

"Um, leader, are you free?" she asked.

"Nope! I'm training today!" replied Naruto with a grin.

"Hey! You said you'd play ninja with us today!" protested Konohamaru with a glare.

"Oh, Did I say that?" sweat dropped Naruto while rubbing his head sheepishly. "_Great, if I play with these guys it'll take all day,_" thought a frowning Naruto.

"Why would a ninja play ninja?" asked Sakura while lifelessly staggering towards the blond.

Apparently she was still in shock about being called less useful than Naruto.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto while trying his best to pretend not to notice her zombie like state.

Sakura glared at the blond causing him to sweat drop.

"_She's starting to make me nervous the way she's looking at me,_" mused Naruto while slowly backing away.

He laughed to mask his thoughts. Konohamaru glanced back in forth between Naruto and Sakura in confusion. He then turned towards the blond.

"Hey, who's this girl, bro?" he asked before suddenly wearing a mischievous grin. "Don't tell me she's this."

Konohamaru made a fist and extended his pinky in the universal sign for a lover. Naruto blushed profusely and begun to laugh while Sakura merely looked livid.

"Wow, for brats, you're pretty perceptive!" lied Naruto with a huge grin on his face.

In a instant, Naruto felt a steam roller smash into his face. Naruto went flying backwards into a wall with enough force to leave a miniature crater.

"YOU LYING BASTARD!!" roared Sakura while glowing with a bright green aura of chakra.

"B-bro!" cried Konohamaru in shock. "Hey! How dare you hit him like that!" he screamed at Sakura.

Moegi, Konohamaru and Udon then rushed to Naruto's twitching body. A trickle of blood was leaking from his mouth where Sakura had slugged him. To said the least, he looked really hurt.

"Leader! Speak to me!" pleaded Moegi while holding her face in dismay.

"I can't feel a pulse!" wailed Udon after feeling Naruto's back.

Moegi sweat dropped.

"His heart is on the other side," she pointed out.

"Oh? My bad," replied Udon with a sheepish grin.

Konohamaru whipped around towards Sakura again.

"You ugly bitch!" he cried.

A vein jumped in Sakura's temple and she quietly cracked her knuckles. She then growled as her green aura grew larger in intensity. Konohamaru's mouth dropped open in fear and his face grew noticeably paler. He screamed like a little girl when Sakura pounced.

A few minutes later, the pink haired girl stormed away in a huff. Konohamaru and Naruto were both twitching with heads full of mountain sized lumps. Slowly they climbed to their feet while rubbing their aching heads.

"Itai, itai, itai!" moaned Naruto.

"Konohamaru-kun, are you alright?" asked Udon worriedly.

"No I'm not alright! Damn that ugly big forehead girl! Seriously, is a brute like her really even a girl?" he asked Naruto with tears of pain in the corner of his eyes.

Sakura, who was still in earshot of the group, came to a halt. She slowly looked over her shoulder with the eyes of death. A vein was throbbing in her temples. Everyone paled at the sight and begun to tremble in fear. Sakura then begun running towards them. With loud cries the others bolted as fast as they could in the opposite direction.

The pink haired girl was gaining on them with each passing second. They rounded a corner with Konohamaru in the lead when suddenly, the browned haired boy smashed head on into someone. Konohamaru fell onto his butt with a wince. Everyone glanced towards the stranger with surprised expressions.

The collision victim was a tall guy clad in a black jumpsuit. There was a purple and yellow crest in the center of his chest. The big guy's hair was hidden beneath a black cap with cat ears. A forehead protector bearing what looked like a jar was perched in the center of the cap. His face was decorated with dark purple face paint that complement his black eyes, although it made him look fearsome as well. He had what looked like a bandaged body strapped onto his back. The only part of it that was uncovered was a patch of brown hair.

"Hey that hurt, brat," he complained in a dangerously soft voice.

Standing next to him was a tomboyish looking girl with messy dirty-blonde hair. She had sky blue eyes that were glaring accusingly at Konohamaru. She was dressed in a revealing net shirt that was covered up somewhat by a pinkest purple dress skirt. Another piece of net cloth was wrapped around her shapely right leg, her left leg was bare. She was carrying a large fan on her back as well. Like the guy, she was wearing a forehead protector that hung loosely around her neck.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" she ordered frostily.

As soon as she said this, her companion bent down and seized Konohamaru by his shirt.

"Konohamaru!" cried Naruto in alarm.

The guy with the face paint had Konohamaru in a chokehold with one hand. Konohamaru's failing legs were dangling several feet off the ground.

"You should beg me for forgiveness, you little piece of shit!" blustered the tall guy with a sneer as he stare maliciously into the kid's eyes.

Konohamaru grunted in pain.

"Stop it, Kankuro. We might get yelled at later," warned the tomboyish girl while looking warily around to see if anyone was watching the scene.

"Please let him go! The whole thing was my fault! I was messing around and…" begun Sakura.

They guy called Kankuro ignored her.

"You worry too much, Temari. Let's have a little bit of fun with these guys first," waved off Kankuro with a smirk.

Temari merely sighed before waving for him to carry on. Naruto growled.

"Hey you jerk! Put him down!" demanded the blond heatedly.

Kankuro's smirk turned back into a sneer. Konohamaru then started feebly kicking Kankuro in the chest while struggling to pry the tall guy's fingers free of his collar.

"Let…go…of me!" Konohamaru grunted.

Kankuro tightened his grip, further cutting off the boy's air supply.

"Brat!" he growled.

Naruto trembled in rage at the sight and quickly charged Kankuro without powering up his speed first. Kankuro smirked at the sight and started wiggling the fingers on his free hand. Naruto felt some unseen object coil around his right leg. It tightened before yanking Naruto's leg from under him. The blond lost his balance and fell with a winded thud on his back.

"Ugh, what the hell was that!?" he cried while gasping for air.

"Just as I thought, Leaf Genins really are weak," taunted Kankuro while disregarding Naruto's question.

Sakura gave a start.

"_These are foreign ninjas! What could they possibly be doing here?_" she wondered darkly.

"Konohamaru-chan!" cried Moegi and Udon worriedly.

Naruto jumped to his feet and pointed at Kankuro.

"You bastard! This is your last chance! Release Konohamaru or else I'll make you!" threatened Naruto coldly.

Kankuro glared balefully at the blond.

"You know, you're pretty damn annoying. I hate midgets like you. Especially the ones who try to be heroes," he murmured.

"So you won't release him?" glowered Naruto with complete seriousness.

Kankuro tightened his grip for emphasis.

"That answer your question, punk?"

Slowly, a swirling aura of blue chakra begun to surround Naruto. Sheer power pumped into his muscles as he glared at Kankuro's sneering face. Naruto had just taken one slow step forward when suddenly, a stone pelted Kankuro sharply on the hand. With a cry of pain and surprise, Kankuro dropped Konohamaru who immediately made a break towards Naruto and the others.

Everyone looked in the direction the stone came from to find Sasuke calmly sitting in a nearby tree. He was tossing another stone playfully into the air while catching it over and over again.

"What are you bastards doing in our village? Depending on how you answer, I may spare your life," said Sasuke with smirk.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura happily.

Naruto stared dumbly at the Uchiha. The power rush left him in the absence of his concentration.

"_What's he doing here?_" wondered the blond in annoyance.

Kankuro glared hatefully at Sasuke while Temari was shyly smiling with interested eyes.

"_What a handsome guy he is,_" thought the tomboy.

"Just great, another annoying brat came out to bother me!" grumbled Kankuro. "I'm not telling you shit!" he cried.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously and he crushed the stone he had been catching into powder with his bare hand. It blew gracefully away in a gust of wind.

"Wrong answer," murmured Sasuke darkly.

Sakura and Moegi squealed like excited fan girls at the sight. Naruto shoulders slumped in defeat while Konohamaru stared at Naruto in pity.

"Bro you suck!" wailed Konohamaru tearfully.

"Ah, you got it all wrong! I could beat that guy easily!" protested Naruto with a sweat drop. "_Damn you Sasuke! Why couldn't you just stay away for a few more minutes!_" thought the blond angrily.

"You cocky little punk! Get your ass down here and fight!" demanded Kankuro.

He then un-strapped the bandaged body from his back.

"I hate little fucks like you the most!" he growled with a hand on the thing's patch of hair.

Temari gave a startled start.

"Hey, you're even going to use Karasu!?" she exclaimed.

Kankuro ignored her. The tension in the air was mounting to an all time high when abruptly an unknown voice rang out.

"Stop it, Kankuro," ordered the voice from behind Sasuke.

The Uchiha gave a start and turned towards it, along with everyone else's eyes to find a short guy hanging from a nearby tree branch like a human bat. Like Kankuro, he wore a one piece jumpsuit. However, his was short sleeved. The guy had a white shawl draped over his shoulder as well as a large gourd strapped to his back with leather holsters. He had blood red hair and teal eyes that were surrounded by dark circles. Tattooed on the left side of his forehead was the Japanese character for love. His forehead protector was fastened to his leather holster.

"You're a disgrace to our village," the short guy added with his arms folded.

Everyone tensed while Temari and Kankuro gave startled starts.

"Ga…Gaara…" breathed Kankuro in fright.

Sasuke glared at the newcomer.

"_Strange, when did this guy sneak up behind me? I didn't sense him at all until he spoke_._ I don't like the looks of his eyes,_" mused the Uchiha darkly.

The boy called Gaara glanced at Sasuke out the corner of his eyes with mild interest…

* * *

The village's Jounins were all gathered at the Hokage's place. Currently, everyone was lined up in several rows with attentive expressions on their faces.

"You have all been gathered here today for one reason," said Sarutobi seriously. "It should be obvious to everyone here, but the time for the Chuunin selection exam is now upon us."

"I see…" said Kakashi who was also there.

"I'm guessing it's already been reported to other countries. I saw some of them here already," commented another guy.

Like Kakashi, he was wearing the usual ninja uniform given to high level ninjas. He had dark blue hair and a Houdini like beard. His honey colored eyes looked intrigued and he was lightly sucking on a bent cigarette. His name was Sarutobi Asuma.

"When is it?" asked a female Jounin.

Unlike other high level ninjas, she was clothed in a red and white curve hugging outfit that showed off her shapely legs. A net shirt was visible around the area of her well proportion bosom. She had shoulder length black hair and red eyes that were being complimented by smoke colored eye shadow. She was wearing red lipstick as well. Her name was Yuuhi Kurenai.

"In exactly one week," replied Sarutobi.

"My my, that's pretty sudden, Hokage-sama," said another Jounin in an alluring voice.

Like Kakashi and Asuma, he was wearing the common ninja uniform. The difference was that he had the crest of the Dragon Clan embedded into the left shoulder of his jacket. He had spiky green hair that extended to his lower back. His teal eyes seemed to be permanently frozen in laughter and he was lightly holding a rose in his right hand. Just like Genmaru, he too had a dragon handled sword. His was tied to his hip and looked more like a rapier than a katana. His name was Jinoko Sagitario.

Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe and exhaled the sweet scent.

"I will now announce it properly. Seven days from now on the first day of the seventh moon. The Chuunin selection exam will commence!"

* * *

Gaara turned his attention back to Kankuro who stiffened.

"You do remember why we're here right?" asked Gaara with a glare.

"But Gaara! These punks started it and…" begun Kankuro like a kid who was being scolded by his mother.

"Shut up," cut off Gaara while narrowing his eyes dangerously. "I will kill you."

Kankuro's expression turned to one of fright.

"Yes Gaara, my mistake! I'm sorry!" apologized Kankuro quickly.

Gaara turned his attention back to Sasuke.

"I offer my apology to you guys as well," he said emotionlessly. "_To be able to hit Kankuro so easily with a stone…he's good_."

Gaara then meta-morphed into a mass of sand that floated to the ground before reassuming Gaara's shape. He calmly rose to his full height.

"Let's go," he ordered his subordinates as he strode pass. "We don't have time to play around."

"Right," complied Temari and Kankuro in unison before following after Gaara.

Sakura took a few steps forward.

"Wait!" she called causing them to come to a halt.

"Yeah, what is it?" asked Temari without turning around.

"Since you guys are wearing foreign forehead protectors, you must be from another village. Wind Country's Sand village judging by the symbol. I'm sure you all know, but it's forbidden for other ninjas to enter other ninja villages without permission. Like Sasuke said, you should state your reason for being here or else we'll have to remove you guys by force!" warned Sakura while reaching for her kunai pouch.

The three sand ninjas turned around with annoyed expressions.

"Talk about living under a rock! Don't you guys know anything?" asked Temari in a huff.

She withdrew a case from her pocket and showed it to the group. It had a picture of Temari as well as official permission information written on it.

"My passport," she explained. "You're right, we're Genin from Kaze no Kuni's Hidden Sand Village. We're here to take this year's Chuunin selection exam."

"Chuunin selection exam?" echoed Naruto in confusion. "What's that?"

Temari folded her arms with a smug smile on her face.

"Poor baby, you really don't know anything."

"Bro, the Chuunin selection exam is a series of tests you need to take in order to go from Genin to Chuunin level!" explained Konohamaru.

Naruto instantly became excited.

"Really?! In that case, I think I'll take it too!" he declared with a smile.

Wordlessly, the trio of Sands turned to resume walking away. Sasuke hopped out of the tree he was in and called out to them once more.

"Hey you! What's your name?" he asked.

Temari whipped around with a blush.

"Who me?" she asked shyly.

"No, the other guy with the gourd," contradicted Sasuke.

Gaara slowly turned around.

"Sabaku no Gaara," he responded. "I'm also interest in you. Your name?"

"_Gaara of the Desert, huh? This is getting interesting,_" Sasuke smirked. "It's Uchiha Sasuke."

A chilled wind picked up right then that seemed befitting to the colliding wave of tension in the air. It was short lived however. Naruto spoke with a excited grin.

"Hey, do you want to know my name?" he asked.

Gaara barely even look at Naruto.

"Not really," he replied before he and his partners took to the air with high jumps.

Instantly the blond saw red.

"Damn that guy, do I really look weak, Konohamaru?" he asked in a slightly crestfallen tone.

"Sorry bro, but next to Sasuke you do," replied Konohamaru.

Naruto grasped his head while crying out in frustration.

"Sasuke, I won't lose to you!" he cried.

Sasuke turned around with a frown.

"What is your problem, idiot?"

"You are, ya jerk!" shot back Naruto.

They bickered like this for some time. Sakura sighed.

"_Well as they say, the more you fight the closer you must be_," she mused.

* * *

"Now, to start the Chuunin exam off. Will those watching over the new Genin step forward?" requested Sarutobi.

Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Sagitario all moved in front of the Third.

"Well? Are there any Genins you want to nominate for this year's exam?" asked Sarutobi once everyone was in position. "I don't have to tell you this, but as long as your nominated candidates has completed at least eight missions, they are eligible to participate if they choose. However, it is preferred that they have done more than that as the norm."

Kakashi went first. He raised his right hand in a prayer position with his index and middle fingers aimed skywards.

"Representing Team Seven. I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura to take part in this year's Chuunin exam," spoke Kakashi seriously.

Kurenai went next.

"Representing Team Eight. I, Yuuhi Kurenai, nominate Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino to take part in this year's Chuunin exam," copied Kurenai just as seriously.

Next came Sagitario.

"Representing Team Nine. I, Jinoko Sagitario, nominate Shishikura Domino, Harime Elaine and Vaughn Genmaru to take part in this year's Chuunin exam," repeated Sagitario with a pleasant smile that matched laughing eyes.

Finally Asuma went.

"Representing Team Ten. I, Sarutobi Asuma, nominate Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji to take part in this year's Chuunin exam," concluded Asuma with a smile.

The Jounins standing behind the four leaders begun to murmur amongst themselves.

"All twelve of them have been nominated?"

"Rookies participating this year, should be interesting."

"Those kids must be pretty strong."

Sarutobi nodded his understanding while jotting down the nominees names. Suddenly Iruka spoke up urgently.

"Hold on a second!"

"Hm? What is it, Iruka?" asked the Third.

"I apologize, I know this is rude of me but I must speak. Nine of the nominees were students of mine so I can only speak for them. They are all very talented I'm sure, but I just don't think that they're ready yet! The same probably hold true for ninth squad. Please allow them to gain more experience first before letting them participate!" begged Iruka.

Kakashi turned towards Iruka calmly.

"I became a Chuunin when I was six years younger than Naruto," he stated.

"Naruto is different than you!" snapped Iruka desperately. "Are you all trying to crush these kids!?"

Asuma spoke up.

"Well, they're always complaining about how boring the missions are. I think they are more than ready to move on to the next level. A bit of pain might be good for them."

"So true, Iruka-sensei. My squad have even been able to handle B level missions at this stage. They should all go quite far during the exam," added Sagitario with a cheery smile.

Kakashi then spoke up.

"I understand what you're trying to say Iruka. However, it's in your best interest to stay out of our affairs. These guys are no longer your students, but instead valiant solders of ours," put the gray haired ninja bluntly.

Iruka grimaced. He opened his mouth to protest some more but was cut off by Sarutobi.

"Iruka, I understand your feelings but this matter is out of your hands. However, we will conduct a special preliminary examination for the candidates before starting the actual test. I assure you, those who aren't ready will be weeded out before they are exposed to any life threatening situations," promised the Third.

"Preliminary exam?" echoed Iruka nervously.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were waiting impatiently for Kakashi on the same bridge as before. They had been waiting for over thirty minutes. In irritation, Sakura squealed while stamping her foot.

"Ooh, why does Kakashi-sensei always make us wait when he asks us to meet at a specific time!?" complained Sakura.

"Right!" cried Naruto while pumping his fist into the air.

"I didn't even get a chance to finishing blow drying my hair! He's better have a real excuse this time!" continued Sakura with her rant.

"Yeah! I didn't even have a chance to wash my face or brush my teeth!" whined Naruto.

Sakura's angry expression turned to one of disgust.

"Ew, that's dirty…" muttered Sakura in annoyance.

Sasuke, who was leaning against the railing in boredom sighed.

"_How can those two be so loud this early in the morning?_" thought the Uchiha.

He glanced upwards upon sensing Kakashi's arrival on top of the bridge's overhead beam again.

"Hey, good morning guys!" greeted Kakashi cheerfully. "I got lost in the path of life today."

"Liar!" accused Naruto and Sakura as usual.

Kakashi hopped down to the others.

"Okay, I'll get straight to the point. I recommended all of you guys to participate in the Chuunin exam," he announced while reaching into his pouch.

He produced three slips which he held out to everyone.

"Take these applications," he instructed.

"You want us to participate in the exam?" asked Sakura in surprise.

"No Sakura, I only recommended you. Whether you want to participate is entirely up to you," replied Kakashi.

"Alright!" cheered Naruto. "You're the best, Sensei!"

Naruto leaped onto Kakashi in a happy hug.

"Hey, Naruto! Cut it out, get off of me!" ordered Kakashi while trying not to lose his balance.

Naruto let go and begun bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Now, only sign the form if you truly want to take the test. Five days from today, bring your applications to the academy at three P.M and report to room three oh one. That's all," explained Kakashi.

Everyone nodded while Naruto grinned excitedly.

"Chuunin exam, Chuunin exam…" he chanted over and over.

The group then departed to begin the day's activities…

* * *

"The Chuunin exam huh?" said Sakura apprehensively as the trio walked. "There are probably going to be a lot of strong guys participating."

"Yeah," agreed Naruto. "_Like that Kankuro jerk from yesterday and_…" he glared at Sasuke.

Sasuke glared back before they looked determinedly away from each other.

Naruto then imagined himself defeating both of them and holding a large trophy over his head for becoming a Chuunin. He grinned in pleasure at the thought.

"_I'll become Hokage in no time if I win this thing!_" he thought gleefully.

Sasuke however, was absorbed in his own thoughts.

"_That guy with the gourd felt pretty powerful judging by his chakra. I hope I get a chance to fight him,_" mused Sasuke with a determined smirk.

So absorbed were her teammates in there musings that they didn't notice Sakura come to a halt directly behind them.

"_I don't want to take the exam. It's pointless for me since I can't keep up with Naruto and Sasuke-kun,_" thought the pink haired girl sadly.

With a sigh of misery, she resumed walking after her comrades…

* * *

Naruto was just on his way home from his makeshift training center later that night.

"Phew, I was able to work up a good sweat today! I think my aim is getting better after all that shuriken throwing!" said the blond out loud to himself.

"That's good to hear, Naruto," came a familiar voice.

Naruto looked up in surprise to find Genmaru standing in front of his apartment door. The misty eyed ninja was smiling while holding an object that was wrapped in a bundle of cloth.

"Hey, Genmaru! What are you doing here?" asked the blond happily.

"Well, I heard you've been nominated for the Chuunin selection exam. So I thought I would bring you a small gift to congratulate you," he replied with a warm smile.

"Aw geez, you didn't have to do anything like that. But if it's one of your cakes I'll take it!" joked Naruto with a laugh.

Genmaru laughed as well before giving the blond a funny look.

"Good one Naruto, but I assure you that this little gem here is much more useful than a bit of cake," he said.

Naruto grew thoughtful while trying to figure out what it could be. After a moment he spoke up.

"Okay, you got me, what is it?" asked the blond.

Genmaru's smile grew broader.

"Just something that will help you along in your training. Here, open it," he invited while offering the object to Naruto with both hands.

The blond reached out for the gift. The moment Genmaru completely let go of it, Naruto's arms shank like a stone and the blond was pulled flat on his face! Genmaru sweat dropped.

"_Maybe I should've warned him to brace himself,_" thought the tan ninja a little late.

"What the hell!? This thing is heavy!" complained Naruto angrily.

Genmaru chuckled nervously before waving at him to open the parcel. The blond did so to reveal a pair of leg and arm weights. The weights looked like a brace with several metal bars attached to the cage. Naruto's angry frown turned to a look of surprise. He glanced back at Genmaru as if to say 'should I put them on?' Genmaru nodded with a good natured smile. The blond quickly fastened the leg weights, albeit not without a bit of a struggle to pick up the things first. Genmaru helped him to put on the arm weight.

Naruto's leg muscles protested when he stood up with his newfound training equipment on. He dragged his feet about while hunched over gorilla style in a effort to test out the feel of the gear.

"T-thank you, Gen…ugh…maru!" grunted Naruto while trying his best to remain upright.

"No problem. That my old weight set, it was the very first one I ever trained in. The exact weight for the arms are fifty pounds apiece. The legs are eighty pounds apiece. Since you did so well with the stones, I figured you could take it up a notch," replied Genmaru.

"A-Alright! If I…ugh…can get u-used to t-these quickly, I'll be un…ugh…stoppable during the C-Chuunin exam!" grunted the blond cheerfully.

Genmaru chuckled.

"Yep, that's the right attitude to have. But just so you know. Elaine, Domino and I will be competing in the exam as well," announced Genmaru with a smile.

"R-really? That's g-great!" cried Naruto.

"Yeah, it'll be awesome if all four of us become Chuunin but you never know what may happen. Best of luck to the both of us eh?" wished Genmaru sincerely.

"Y-yeah! I'll do m-my b-best!"

"Great! Well I've best be going, Naruto. It's my turn to make dinner tonight, Domino is probably half starved by now," joked the misty eyed ninja.

Naruto laughed.

"Alright, I guess I'll…ugh…be seeing y-you at the exam t-then!"

"Yeah, see you later, Naruto," said Genmaru before vanishing into thin air.

With an excited grin, Naruto dragged his bogged down body into his apartment…

* * *

Two days had passed since that night. During that time, Naruto had adjusted enough to the weights to be able to walk short distances without becoming too tired. His arms were still hanging limply by his side though and he could only manage a shuffle when it came to running. The blond was just on his way to his training center that morning to begin the third day of his training when he ran into Konohamaru and his friends.

"Hey, bro! Let's play together!" begged Konohamaru upon spotting the blond.

Naruto frowned before shrugging and smiling.

"_It's only one day. It shouldn't hurt too badly,_" figured the blond. "Sure, I don't have any missions today so I'll play with you guys!"

"Yeah!" cheered the Konohamaru squad happily.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared behind Moegi. Naruto gave a start causing the others to look as well. The smoke vanished to reveal a masked man wearing a blue and gray jumpsuit with a black cloak. He had a disk shaped hat and a large umbrella strapped to his back. He was wearing a forehead protector with four vertical lines carved into the metal.

"A Rain ninja!?" exclaimed Naruto in surprise.

The man chuckled before grabbing Moegi and leaping to the top of the bridge with a high jump.

"Leader! Konohamaru-chan! Help me!" cried Moegi in dismay.

"Hey you! What do you think you're doing grabbing Moegi like that!?" yelled Konohamaru angrily.

"Let her go!" added Naruto with a growl.

The Rain ninja smirked before dashing away with Moegi in his grasp.

"Damn it! Come on Konohamaru, let's go after him!" cried Naruto before shuffling as fast as his weighted down body would allow.

"Right!" agreed Konohamaru and Udon while following in hot pursuit…

* * *

Sakura was sitting outside her bedroom on the balcony in deep thought.

"Maybe I should train and take the exam after all," thoughtfully murmured Sakura to herself.

A familiar 'yo' startled her out of her thoughts. She looked over the edge of the balcony to find Sasuke staring up at her from ground level.

"Oh Sasuke-kun! What's the matter?" asked Sakura with instant worry.

"Nothing…do you want to take a walk together?" asked the Uchiha after a moment.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and she blushed with a happy smile.

"No way! Are you being serious?" asked Sakura hopefully.

The Uchiha nodded with a warm smile.

In a flash, Sakura was downstairs and ready to go…

* * *

Naruto and the others were leaping from tree branch to tree branch in pursuit of the kidnapper. Although he was moving pretty fast, Naruto was able to keep up just enough to always be able to see him.

"_Not the way I planned on doing my training, but I'm game,_" thought the blond with a smirk as he fueled his bogged down muscles with chakra. "_Hang on Moegi, we're coming!_"

Due to the extra burst of speed he put on, Konohamaru and Udon were quickly falling further and further behind. Soon they lost sight of him altogether.

"Damn it! Where did they go?" complained Konohamaru after coming to a halt.

Udon touched down next to him.

"Maybe they made some turns somewhere?" he suggested.

Konohamaru sighed and picked a random direction…

By this point, the kidnapper had finally came to a stop. He then tied the struggling Moegi to a tree while chuckling to himself.

"Don't worry little girl, this is only temporary. Once I've gotten the village Jounins to come looking for you, I'll be able to sneak into the Chuunin exam and assassinate the Hokage when his guard is down!" rambled the Rain ninja with a laugh.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" cried Naruto while touching down heavily a few feet away.

"Not bad, you've found me pretty quickly, kid," praised the kidnapper with a smirk.

"Nah, you're just slow you fat old man!" quipped Naruto while pointing at the ninja with a grin. "If you let Moegi go right now, I promise I won't kick your ass too hard!"

"Oh, aren't you a feisty one! But you seem to be forgetting something," said the Rain while withdrawing a kunai from his pouch.

He pressed the knife to Moegi's throat.

"I have the advantage, kid!" he cried.

Naruto growled in frustration. The Rain ninja laughed.

"That's better, now why don't you give me your kunai and shuriken pouches before you hurt someone," taunted the kidnapper.

"Damn you! Why are you doing this?" demanded Naruto with wide eyes.

"Simple, once the Hokage is out of the way, I'll be able to use the chaos to sneak away with the scroll of sealing!" declared the Rain. "Now don't make me repeat myself. Give me your weapons now!"

Slowly, Naruto unfastened his pouches…

* * *

"Um, Sasuke-kun, what's this all about?" asked Sakura when they had arrived at the school's training field.

Sasuke took a few more steps forward before coming to a stop.

"Sakura, give up on the Chuunin exam. It's still impossible for you," said Sasuke darkly without turning around.

Sakura immediately looked downcast.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I figured that was still the case," she murmured.

"I'm sorry, but the Chuunin exam is full of skilled ninjas. If you do poorly, you may die," predicted Sasuke while turning around.

Sakura was momentarily surprised, then she peppered up again with a happy smile.

"Sasuke-kun! You were worried about me?" she asked excitedly.

"Well…yeah," he confirmed with a smile.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of laughter directly behind Sasuke.

"What a nice show! You two should star in a romance novel!" teased a guy who looked exactly like the Rain ninja Naruto had been pursuing.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and glared over his shoulder.

"You best disappear, if you don't want to die that is," threatened Sasuke.

"Yeah yeah, I've heard it all before!" cried the Rain before taking to the air with a high jump.

He then hurled a wave of shuriken at the duo. Quickly Sasuke stood protectively in front of Sakura with a kunai drawn. He expertly deflected the projectiles causing them to sail harmlessly aside.

"Don't make me mad!" snapped Sasuke once they were safe.

He then charged at the Rain ninja. Quickly the Rain grabbed the handle of his parasol and hurled it at Sasuke. The Uchiha countered the maneuver by hurling his kunai at the flying umbrella.

"Don't underestimate me!" cried Sasuke.

The moment the two projectiles collided, the parasol erupted into a rain of kunai. They all sailed towards the startled black haired boy. A huge ring of dust enveloped him when they hit.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura in dismay.

The Rain ninja touched down with a smirk on his face. When the dust cleared, Sasuke was laying facedown with several kunai logged in various places on his arms, legs and back. He wasn't breathing, much to Sakura's horror.

"No…Sasuke-kun…SASUKE-KUN!!" wailed Sakura while dashing to the Uchiha's side.

* * *

"Don't listen to him, leader!" Moegi cried.

Naruto paused from unfastening his pouch. The Rain ninja looked slightly irritated before pressing the knife firmly to Moegi's throat. The girl didn't dare move.

"I don't think you have much of a choice, kid. Give me your weapons!" he demanded for the third time.

Naruto smirked.

"And if I say no?" he challenged.

"Damn brat! Don't you even care what happens to the girl!?"

"Hah, I don't give a crap about what happens to that pile of straw!" shot back Naruto with a grin.

"Straw?" echoed the kidnapper before turning to look at the girl.

He gave a start upon spotting a straw doll in Moegi's place.

"What!? When did he…"

The Rain ninja then sensed a presence above him. He glanced up to see another grinning Naruto holding Moegi protectively in his arms.

"I already got Moegi back, dummy!" cried the clone.

"You're so great, leader! I so admire you!" gushed Moegi with twinkling eyes.

The blond grinned even broader while rubbing his nose.

"You little smartass! So you can do a replication technique eh?" growled the Rain while shaking his fist.

"Give it up already!" cried a voice behind him.

The kidnapper turned to see a third Naruto hurling a huge fishnet at him. With a startled cry, he was ensnared in the trap. Three more Narutos came out of hiding and together with the net Naruto, they all pounced on the hapless man. He groaned under their combined weight.

At that moment Konohamaru and Udon arrived at the scene.

"Bro!" called Konohamaru happily upon spotting him.

"Hey, you guys are late!" pointed out the blond with a laugh.

The clone carrying Moegi hopped to ground level and set her down before going up in smoke. Three of the Naruto's sitting on the kidnapper also vanished leaving behind the original, who looked really pleased with himself. Moegi immediately embraced her two teammates.

"I was so scared!" she wailed tearfully.

"There there, it's alright now," chided Konohamaru fondly.

"Did you get him leader?" asked Udon after they ended the embrace.

"Yep! Take a look!" replied Naruto.

All three of them looked in confusion at the large rock he was perched on.

"Ah, he used Kawarimi when I wasn't looking!" wailed Naruto in dismay. "Where did he go!?" he cried while looking this way and that.

But the dubious Rain was long gone…

* * *

Sakura's muffled sobbing seemed to excite the murderer. He chuckled as he approached.

"If you don't want to suffer the same fate, I suggest you quit the Chuunin exam!"

Sakura didn't seem to hear him.

"Sasuke-kun, I don't want you to die!" moaned the pink haired girl before bolting upright with a completely tear free face. "Is that what you were hoping I would say? Please! I saw through your Genjutsu a long time ago!" she declared.

"What?" uttered the surprised Rain.

"If you're going to pretend to be Sasuke then you have a lot to learn. The real Sasuke would never have asked me out on a stroll! _As much as I hate to admit it,_" she silently thought her last statement. "You really thought this crappy Genjutsu would work on me? Don't make me laugh!"

"Crappy eh?" commented the Rain in amusement.

"That's right! I also know that you're an illusion as well!"

The Rain laughed this time.

"Are you sure about that?" he testily taunted while grasping the handle of his second parasol.

Sakura calmly strode forward. She didn't even flinch when the Rain hurled his umbrella at the pink haired girl. The projectile passed harmlessly through her body like a ghost.

"See?" said Sakura with a smug smile.

The Rain laughed again.

"Excellent, student of Kakashi! But be forewarned, next time it won't be an illusion when we meet in the Chuunin exam. Can you handle it!?" he cried before vanishing into thin air.

"Bring it on! I'll take it anytime!" she cried to the empty air. "This exam will be…ah who am I kidding! I'm not that confident yet," she groaned.

* * *

In another section of the woods, the real Sasuke had defeat his Rain with a simple kick.

"_Is that the best you can do? What a waste,_" he thought with a frown before striding calmly away.

* * *

Kakashi was watching the nearly full moon later that night. He sighed when that same Rain ninja from before appeared behind him.

"Well? How did they do…Iruka?" asked Kakashi without turning around.

In a poof of smoke, the Ame ninja transformed back into Iruka.

"Looks like you guys were all right. All twelve on the nominees passed," he reported with a smile. "They really have gotten pretty strong."

"Of course, but it still may not be enough for the actual exam. The tests may prove more difficult than either of them could ever imagine," said Kakashi quietly.

A chilled wind picked up in the silence that followed…

* * *

Five days passed quickly for the hidden village. Just as they had been instructed, Naruto and Sasuke met in front of the doors to the academy. Since Sakura had yet to arrive, Naruto begun checking out some of the other ninjas he would be competing with during the exam. He paused when he caught sight of a familiar trio.

"Hey guys!" called the frantically waving blond with a grin.

Elaine, Domino and Genmaru all waved back before approach the duo.

"Naruto, Sasuke, good to see you guys here!" greeted Domino cheerily.

"Yeah!" replied the blond with a grin.

Sasuke shrugged indifferently but still managed a smirk all the same.

"I was so happy when I heard that you guys had been nominated for the exam, Naruto!" said Elaine with a pleasant smile. "By the way, where's Sakura?"

"I'm not sure. She said she was going to meet us here so she may be on her way now," replied Naruto with a thoughtful expression.

"Really? Well she best hurry, the deadline for registration is in less than forty minutes," pointed out Domino with her mischievous grin in place. "A certain someone would just hate to see you miss the exam," she made that 'someone' obvious when she shifted her gaze to Elaine with a wolf grin.

The blue haired girl turned crimson. Sensing what his girlfriend was up to, Genmaru quickly came to Elaine's rescue with a change of subject.

"So Naruto, are you getting used to the weights I gave you?" he asked with a smile.

Naruto grinned while rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, it's still a little hard to move around in these but it's getting easier," answered the blond while walking in a quick circle to demonstrate.

Everyone looked pleased at the ease of Naruto's movements although he was still dragging his feet a bit and his arms still hung somewhat limply by his side. Even Sasuke seemed intrigued by Naruto's improved mobility. Elaine applauded excitedly while Domino cheered.

"Just what I expected from the amazing future Hokage!" praised Domino causing Naruto to blush in embarrassment.

"You've got a lot of potential, Naruto. You'll go pretty far," added Genmaru with his two cents worth.

"Aw shucks guys, I'm not that good yet. Even though it's true," jested the blond in pleasure.

A loud chime drew everyone's attention. A Jounin then exited the academy with a megaphone in hand.

"All Chuunin exam candidates report to room three oh one for registration! I repeat, all candidates report to room three oh one for registration! Thank you."

"Hah, looks like that's our cue!" observed Domino.

"Yeah, well I suppose we've better be going, Naruto," agreed Genmaru.

"Okay! See you guys there!" promised Naruto amicably.

"Good luck, I'll be rooting for you all the way!" declared Elaine with the exact thoughts of the others.

"Yeah! I'll be rooting for you too!" said Naruto happily.

With hearty waves of parting, Team Nine entered the academy. A few minutes later, Naruto finally caught sight of Sakura dashing through the crowd.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! You're late," said Naruto with a slight frown that was quickly replaced by a smile due to his good mood.

"Yeah…sorry about that," replied Sakura while flushing in embarrassment.

She shifted her gaze to Sasuke with a worried look. She was remembering the Rain ninja's warning as well as the Genjutsu imagine of Sasuke's dead body.

"_I've got a bad feeling about this,_" she thought worriedly. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she greeted more quietly than normal.

Sasuke looked at her out the corner of his eye queerly.

"_Sakura's acting funny today_," he noted warily. "Yeah, morning."

With the greetings over and done with, the trio entered the academy to turn in their applications...

* * *

The trio found their path being blocked by a large crowd of ninjas. Judging by the fuss they were making, it looked like a fight was going to break out. They quickly muscled their way to the front of the crowd to get a better look. They caught sigh of one kid slugging another guy. The person who had gotten hit fell on his butt with a wince. This guy was dressed in dark green spandex with golden brown colored leg guards and a red belt where his forehead protector rested. His hands were wrapped in bandages. He had shiny black hair and thick fuzzy eyebrows over a pair of huge bug like eyes.

"Hey! That was uncalled for!" cried a girl before kneeling next to the spandex guy.

She was wearing a pair of baggy turtle shell colored pants and a pink sleeveless top that gave her a Chinese look. Her dark brown hair was tied into two Chinese buns that added to her cuteness. Her forehead protector was perched upon her forehead. Currently, she was glaring at the jerk who hit her partner with amber colored eyes.

"Shut up! I'm already in a bad mood and besides, you kids don't really thing you can take the Chuunin exam do you?" taunted the bully with a scornful smile.

He had wild spiky black hair that matched his leering eyes. His nose was as red as a beet and he had several bandages on his face. He was clad in a blue and light purple outfit with two swords strapped to his back.

"You guys should quit while you can!" chipped in another guy who was obviously the jerk's partner.

He wore a similar outfit however, unlike his partner he was wearing a bandana. Also he didn't have any swords either. His black eyes shone with amusement as he surveyed his partner's target.

"Yeah you little kids!" added the sword guy.

The girl in pink looked at them with pleading eyes.

"We don't want any trouble. Please let us through," she begged while walking towards the room they were guarding, which was three oh one.

The red nosed jerk slapped her once she was in range. She too fell to her butt with a wince.

"That's horrible!" cried someone in the crowd.

The jerk glared at that person, effectively silencing him.

"What was that? I think we're being pretty nice to you guys. The Chuunin exam isn't something a bunch of kids like you lot can handle," pointed out the red nosed guy with a mocking smile.

"Right, I've seen lots of people give up on being Shinobi after taking this test. Some people have even died during the exam," added his partner.

Their was a murmur of unease amongst the crowd. The jerks smirked.

"Since Chuunin is the level of a platoon leader, you guys should keep in mind that the life of a comrade and the success of the mission all falls on those who become Chuunins. Now are you babies seriously going to stand there and tell me you can handle a job like that?" asked the red nosed guy.

Everyone stayed silent.

"Just as I thought, but don't take it so personally. We're just thinning out those that will fail anyway. Nothing wrong with that right?" said the other guy.

"You're right, some of these guys clearly aren't ready. However, you will be letting me through," said Sasuke as he calmly strode forward with Naruto and Sakura following confidently behind him. "One other thing, remove the Genjutsu you cast on the door."

"Oh, so you've noticed eh? And just who are you suppose to be?" demanded the red nosed guy with a glare.

Sasuke ignored him and glanced at Sakura with a knowing smile.

"You've noticed it first right? Your analytical abilities and Genjutsu know how is the best on our team after all," he said.

Sakura was momentarily surprised, then she smiled confidently.

"Of course I noticed! This is the second floor, not the third!" declared the pink haired girl with a smile.

"Yep!" added Naruto knowingly.

The room number then changed from three oh one to two oh one.

"Heh, not too shabby for a bunch of kids. But all you did was see through it!" cried the red nosed guy before going into a spinning kick.

Sasuke sensed the move coming and had already launched a kick of his own. Just as the blows were about to connect, the spandex guy appeared out of thin air and caught both of their legs. Everyone gave a start.

"_My gosh! He's fast!_" thought Sakura in awe. "_He's totally different from the guy who was getting knocked around before!_"

"_This guy…he moves like Naruto!_" thought Sasuke with intrigued eyes.

The spandex guy released Sasuke and the red nosed jerk's legs with a relieved sigh. Immediately the pink shirted girl and another guy approached him.

"Hey, what happened to the plan? You're the one who said that we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves," reminded the newcomer.

The guy was a serious looking fellow with pupil less blue-gray eyes. He was wearing a tan shirt with dark brown pants that matched the color of his long hair. His right leg was wrapped in bandages. His forehead protector was perched upon his forehead.

"Well…" begun the spandex guy before staring determinedly at Sakura with crimson cheeks.

The girl in pink shook her head in annoyance. Sakura warily backed away due to the way the spandex guy was staring at her. The spandex guy approached her determinedly.

"My name is Rock Lee. Yours is Sakura, right?" asked Lee.

"Huh? Um, yes," replied Sakura in wary confusion due to his bold approach.

Lee then flashed the thumbs up while winking at her with reddening cheeks.

"Lets go out together! I swear to protect you until the day I die!" declared Lee as he teeth gave off a bright shine.

Sakura paled at the thought.

'No way! You're too weird!" shot down Sakura much to the dismay of Lee.

Naruto chuckled since it was someone else who was getting rejected for once instead of him. The pink girl and the guy in tan then approached the group.

"Hey you, what's your name?" asked the pupil less guy to Sasuke.

Naruto clenched his teeth.

"_Damn it! Not Sasuke again!_" he mused angrily.

"When you want to learn someone else's name, you should give yours first," replied Sasuke.

The tan guy ignore the statement.

"You're a rookie right? How old are you?"

Sasuke stared at the tan guy for a second before replying.

"I don't feel obligated to answer you," disregarded the Uchiha coolly.

"What was that?" demanded the pupil less guy with a glare.

The girl giggled.

"_He's cute,_" she thought.

Sasuke spun on his heels and strode calmly away. He paused to observe Naruto and Lee who were slumped against the wall with gloomy looks. After a moment of frowning at them in pity, Sakura spoke up excitedly.

"Come on Sasuke-kun, Naruto, lets go!" she seized hold of her teammates hands and quickly dragged them along in an effort to get away from Lee.

"Hey, don't pull like that!" complained Sasuke.

Sakura didn't release their hands until they arrived at the stair case to the third floor.

"_Man. There's a bunch of monsters at this exam. I'm looking forward to this,_" thought Sasuke with a smirk as the group climbed.

* * *

Upon reaching the upper landing, the trio was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Wait, you there with the sharp eyes."

Everyone turned towards the source to find Lee standing on a balcony directly above them. Sakura paled and begun to shiver in fright, Naruto just looked mildly interested in what the guy wanted and Sasuke looked bored.

"What do you want?" asked the Uchiha when nobody had said anything for nearly ten seconds.

Lee's answer was abrupt and to the point.

"Will you fight with me? Right here and now?" he requested.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"You want to fight with me?" he echoed.

"Yes," replied Lee before leaping over the railing and gently touching down in a crouched position.

He rose to his full height and pointed to himself.

"As I said before, my name is Rock Lee. One should introduce themselves before inquiring another's name right, Uchiha Sasuke-kun?" asked Lee while pointing at Sasuke.

Naruto growled in annoyance.

"_Damn it! Why is it always about Sasuke!_" he thought heatedly.

"Hmp, so you know my name," observed Sasuke with growing interest.

"I would like to fight now. Please let me know when you're ready to start," requested Lee while sinking into a combat pose. "I want to see how my moves measure up to the descendant of the genius Uchiha Clan. Also…"

Lee shifted his gaze to Sakura. The pink haired girl stiffened in fear. Lee begun to blush.

"Sakura-chan, I love you!" cried Lee.

"NOOO!" screamed Sakura as if it were the most horrifying proclamation in the world. "I hate those eyelashes! Your hair style, fuzzy eyebrows and everything about you is too unique for me!" she cried while shivering.

Lee ignored this and blushed even more deeply.

"You're an angel!" he cried while winking and blowing a heart at Sakura.

"NOOO!" shrieked Sakura while grasping her head in panic.

Quickly she dodged the floating heart. It planted itself onto a pillar directly behind her.

"Very nice. But how about this?" said Lee before launched several hearts all at once.

Sakura begun running around in circles while screaming. With a level of flexibility she never knew she had, the pink haired girl bobbed and weaved around all the hearts while grunting like a gorilla. She leaned backward and banged her head on the ground as the last heart flew pass. Breathing heavily, she climbed back to her feet before yelling angrily at Lee.

"Stop throwing weird things at me! I had to dodge those like my life depended on it!" she cried with a vein in her temple.

Lee's shoulders slumped.

"You don't need to dodge them so much," he said sadly before his gaze became serious again as he glanced back to Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed in irritation before glaring at Lee.

"You're a pretty ignorant guy to pick a fight with me while knowing that my name is Uchiha. Are you sure you want to see what I'm capable of, Fuzzy Eyebrows?" taunted Sasuke darkly.

Lee sneered in excitement while raising his right hand in front of himself as if inviting Sasuke to take the initiative. His left hand was hidden behind his back.

"Please, show me," he replied. "_How lucky I am! Getting a chance to fight with this year's number one rookie before everyone else. Too bad Gai-sensei isn't around to see this_."

"Wait a minute," called Naruto suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. "I'll fight the Fuzzy Eyebrows guy," he declared darkly while glaring at Lee.

"Wha, hey! You can't just butt in!" scolded Sakura.

Naruto ignored her and advanced forward to meet the challenge.

"Don't worry about it. This guy will be lucky to last five minutes," stated Naruto confidently.

"It's an interesting offer, but I don't want to fight you. I want to fight an Uchiha," rejected Lee calmly.

"Tsk, I'm getting really sick of this Sasuke Sasuke thing!" cried Naruto before charging at normal speed.

Once Naruto was in range, he lunged forward with a power jab. However, Lee effortlessly knocked the punch aside using only two fingers. Naruto's mouth opened in an O of surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. The blond went into a one handed handstand and whipped his right leg around for a pelvic kick. Before the attack could even come close to connecting, Lee went into a quick sweep which knocked Naruto's arm from under him. Another speedy kick from Lee caused Naruto to rapidly spin, like a bottle on a table, into a wall. He smacked his head with enough force to black out.

"_He's strong!_" realized Sakura who was trembling.

Lee calmly rose to his full height and struck the inviting battle pose from before again.

"I'll tell you this now. You cannot defeat me!" declared Lee with deadly seriousness. "Right now, I'm the strongest Genin in Konoha."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before smirking.

"Heh, alright. I'll accept your challenge."

Sasuke crouched into a battle ready position. Sakura then looked at the clock hanging nearby.

"Don't, Sasuke-kun! We only have a little less than thirty minutes to turn in our registration forms!" warned Sakura worriedly.

"Relax, this will be over in five minutes top," replied Sasuke calmly.

By this point, Naruto had regained consciousness. Though he was a bit too disoriented to even think about interfering. He opted instead to quietly sit and see how this little match played out. Sasuke charged.

"_Here he comes! I'm sorry Gai-sensei, but I may have to use that move!_" thought Lee while steeling himself.

Sasuke, like Naruto, lunged forward with a strong right hook. However, Lee had already vanished in a flash of high speed.

"_Shoot!_" thought Sasuke while glancing about for the spandex wearing fighter.

As Sasuke was doing this, Lee appeared in midair directly behind the Uchiha.

"Konoha Senpuu!" he cried while rolling into an overhead spin kick.

Sasuke ducked just in time it seemed, but now he was exposed to a secondary kick from Lee as he spun on the palm of his hand to follow up.

"_Damn, I can't dodge it! I'll have to guard!_"

Sasuke quickly move to shield his face with his arms. Lee then raised his free hand to his face in a prayer position. Before Sasuke's guard was completely in place, Lee's foot collided with his face in a burst of sudden speed. Sasuke cried out in pain as a spray of spit erupted from his mouth from the force of the blow. He then sailed backwards and landed with a thud on his back.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura in shock. "_No way! I was positive Sasuke-kun would be able to block that! How is he moving like that without molding chakra first!?_"

Sasuke climbed to his hands and knees while cradling his face.

"_What the hell was that!? How did he slip that attack through my guard? Was it a Ninjutsu or maybe a Genjutsu?_" thought Sasuke while glaring at Lee.

Lee stood patiently waiting for Sasuke to get up again. Once again he was in the 'I'm giving you the initiative' battle pose. Sasuke rose to his feet and smirked.

"Heh, looks like now is a good opportunity to get used to my things. Prepare yourself," warned Sasuke fairly in amusement.

The Uchiha closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to reveal…

"Sharingan!" cried Sakura in surprise. "_When did he get those? Amazing!_"

Lee glared at Sasuke's eyes.

"_So those are the Sharingan I've heard so much about. I may have to kick this up a notch,_" he thought.

The two battling ninja were locked in a standoff while searching for openings in each other's guards.

"_He's defending well. I can't find an opening at all, looks like I'll have to force him to show one. At least I can see through his techniques in the meantime_," observed Sasuke darkly.

Sasuke charged.

"_Sasuke-kun is becoming strong! There's no way he'll lose to this guy!_" thought Sakura with twinkling eyes.

Her musings seemed to curse the Uchiha. The moment Sasuke was in range, Lee slugged him in the chin with an insanely fast reversal kick. Sasuke sailed good seven feet into the air before landing with a grunt on his back. Sasuke could already feel a tooth loosening around the impact point. Sasuke laided on the ground with wide eyes.

"_I couldn't keep up with his moves at all. I saw them as clear as water but his speed…is he using…_"

"That's right, my moves are neither Genjutsu or Ninjutsu!" cried Lee before rushing Sasuke in a flash of high speed.

Sasuke was barely able to kick up onto his feet again before being on the receiving end of a lightning fast triple spin kick. Sasuke staggered back in pain and quickly moved to block a incoming high punch from Lee. The spandex fighter quickly altered the punch into a grab that held Sasuke's blocker arm in place while ramming his free elbow into the Uchiha's guts. Sasuke winced while staggering backwards once more with his hands grasping his protesting stomach. Sasuke glared angrily at Lee while willing the pain in his guts to lessen. Lee took advantage of that moment to speak.

"As you may have guessed, my moves are all pure Taijutsu!"

He assumed the initiative granting battle pose again before vanishing in a flash of speed. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he tried to pinpoint Lee's location when the fighter in question spoke up from directly behind him.

"Sasuke-kun, you may not be able to believe this right away…" he began.

"Damn it!" cried Sasuke while wildly attempting to backhand Lee, who had already vanished before his arm had even started moving.

Lee reappeared a few feet away.

"But although the Sharingan can see through any kind of technique, your body doesn't have the speed to keep up with mine," he continued as if he had never been interrupted.

Sasuke begun trembling in both frustration and fear.

"Frankly, you should put those eyes away and make use of the chakra you're wasting for another technique instead!" taunted Lee. "Did you know that among the strong there are both genius types and hard working types. Now since you're a genius type that has power handed to you pretty much, then that makes me a hard working type who focuses solely on improving my Taijutsu skills."

"Shut up!" screamed Sasuke before rushing Lee again.

He attacked with a left hook which Lee easily dodged.

"Your Sharingan and my Taijutsu skills are a bad combination," stated Lee while ducking under a roundhouse kick.

Lee then lunged forward with a jumping snap kick. The first kick knocked Sasuke a few feet into the air. Lee boosted off from the ground and begun launching kick after kick into Sasuke's midsection causing him to rise higher and higher into the air with each successive hit. Lee then vanished in a flash of insane speed again. He reappeared a split second later, directly behind Sasuke in midair.

"Now, I will prove to you with this move…"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open in horror.

"That hard work surpasses even geniuses," murmured Lee.

The bandaged wrappings on his left hand slowly unraveled.

"_This feeling…what is he going to do?!_" thought Sasuke fearfully.

"I win!" whispered Lee in Sasuke's ear.

Suddenly, a object flew towards the air born ninjas.

"What!" exclaimed Lee in surprise before a pinwheel toy snagged and pinned Lee's wrappings to a wall.

Everyone gave a start.

"Stop it right there, Lee!" ordered a deep voice.

Everyone looked towards it to find a large sea turtle standing nearby. The turtle was bright red with yellow markings decorating it's shell. It had a piece of orange cloth wrapped around it right foreleg and a forehead protector tied around it's neck. The turtle was glaring at Lee with wise looking black eyes.

Lee allowed gravity to seize him and he gracefully performed an array of flips to ground level. Sasuke, who's mind was still numbed with fear, fell like a stone to the ground. Quickly Sakura ran forward and caught her partner before he could hurt himself in the fall. She shank to her knees from Sasuke's weight coupled with gravity's pull. Naruto watched this with wide eyes.

"_Sasuke was beaten? Who is this guy?_" thought the blond.

Sasuke climbed warily to his feet and glared at Lee.

"_I lost to that weird guy?_" he mused darkly with gritted teeth.

"Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura worriedly. "_He's disturbed, he couldn't even recover during the fall!_"

Everyone then turned their full attention of Lee, who was kneeling apologetically before the turtle.

"You were watching?" asked Lee with guilty eyes.

"Lee, you know full well that that move is forbidden! What would Gai think?" scolded the turtle.

Lee flinched causing Naruto to stare at the turtle in confusion.

"_He's intimidated by a turtle? Could that be his sensei?_" wondered the blond while clapping his hand in realization.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away!" apologized Lee with fearful eyes. "There's no need to involve him is there?"

The turtle's glare spoke volumes. Lee begun to panic.

"But I wasn't going to use the reverse version, I swear it!" cried Lee.

"_Yep, I'm pretty certain that he's his sensei,_" thought Naruto with a nod before rushing to his teammates. "Hey guys!" he cried urgently.

"Yeah what is it?" asked Sakura while observing the exchange with a odd look.

Naruto pointed at the turtle.

"That thing's a turtle right?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious just by looking!?" snapped Sakura in annoyance.

"So, a turtle can become a teacher too right?" he asked.

"How should I know!" cried Sakura.

They turned to watch Lee's reprimand again.

"You fool! Did you really think that excuse would work?" shouted the turtle causing Lee to flinch again. "You should know very well the price for exposing ones moves!"

"Yes sir," replied Lee with downcast eyes.

"Are you prepared to face the consequences?" asked the turtle.

"Yes sir," answered Lee without glancing up from the floor.

The turtle nodded his approval.

"Gai-sensei! I'll leave the rest to you!" called the turtle.

A split second later, a guy who looked almost exactly like Lee save for his bulkier muscles, taller height and obviously older face appeared in a poof of smoke. He struck a sexy feminine pose while peering playfully through a hole he formed with his fingers.

"You guys are in the springtime of your youth aren't you?" he cried.

Everyone gazed on with wide eyes and opened mouths.

"The hell! An even more unique guy came out!" cried Naruto.

"Yo, Lee!" said the oddball named Gai with shining teeth while flashing the thumbs up sign.

"Super unique, super bobbed hair and those eyebrows! Did I miss anything?" Naruto asked his comrades.

"Yeah, you forgot weird!" cried Sakura.

Sasuke merely sweat dropped.

A vein jumped in Lee's temple and he whipped around to glare at them.

"Don't make fun of Gai-sensei!" he bellowed.

"The hell I won't!" shot back Naruto. "We don't know how to react to all those weird things!"

"What did you say!?" roared Lee.

Gai waved his hand carelessly.

"Cut it out, Lee," he said.

Lee glared at Naruto once more before turning to face his Sensei.

"Yes sir," complied Lee quietly.

Gai then held his trembling hand in front of himself before crying out as if he were powering up. In a flash he punched Lee hard enough to draw blood.

"You idiot!" roared Gai.

Naruto and the others paled and cried out in alarm while Lee landed in a heap a few feet away. Gai then advanced on his floored student and kneeled in front of him. Lee climbed slowly to a half sitting position and shifted his gaze to Gai's solemn face.

"Lee, you…you…" he said tearfully.

"Sensei!" cried Lee who was also in tears.

"Lee!" cried Gai as his tears ran freely down his face.

"Sensei! I…I…" he begun.

"It's okay Lee, don't say any more!" Gai silenced his pupil.

"Sensei!" cried Lee before embracing Gai.

The two started sobbing. Even the turtle was crying at the sight. Everyone else slowly backed away as if they were a pair of contagious viruses.

"_I lost to that guy?_" thought Sasuke with eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Yes, this is youth!" cried Gai.

"Sensei!" wailed Lee between sobs.

"Well, this kind of situation isn't so bad," commented Naruto with a forced smile while his eyebrow twitched.

"Speak for yourself, Naruto! This is dangerously strange!" cried Sakura heatedly.

At this point, Gai and Lee had ended the embrace and were standing upright again. Gai put a hand of Lee's shoulder fondly.

"It's okay, Lee! It's normal to make mistakes when you're young!" chided Gai with a teary smile.

"You're too kind, Sensei!" said Lee with tears of happiness.

Gai then pointed towards the setting sun.

"Now run one hundred laps at the training grounds in the glorious sunset!" ordered Gai with a smile.

"Yes, Sensei!" cried Lee determinedly.

They then grinned at each other with dazzling white teeth.

"Let's go!"

"Yes sir!"

Team seven sweat dropped.

"Um, wait a minute! We were still talking!" cried Naruto.

"Also what are you guys going to do about the Chuunin exam? If you run laps there won't be any time left!" added Sakura.

Gai turned towards them while rubbing his head.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that!" he said before clearing his throat. "Lee, I'm going to punish you for fighting and breaking a promise after the exam okay?"

"Yes sir!" cried Lee with a salute.

"Do five hundred laps!" cried Gai while pointing skyward in a sexy pose.

"Sir!" cried Lee with another salute.

Team seven sweat dropped.

"They're stupid," murmured Sakura.

"So what's with the turtle?" asked Naruto with his famous grin in place.

This drew Gai's attention.

"_So those are Kakashi's eh?_" he mused.

Sakura paled when she saw Gai's stare.

"Ack, he's looking at us!" she moaned.

"You three, is Kakashi-sensei doing well?" asked Gai.

"Hm? You know Kakashi?" asked Sasuke in surprise.

"Fufufu, I don't just know him!" he struck a thinking pose while smiling in pleasure. "People often refer to us as eternal rivals!"

"No way! That sounds so fake!" cried Naruto and Sakura in unison.

"How dare you! Gai-sensei is really…" begun Lee angrily.

Gai waved his hand carelessly.

"It's okay, Lee. Don't say it out loud, show it in your attitude!" cut off Gai with a grin.

Everyone stared at Gai with skeptical looks. They only blinked once before…

"He's gone!" cried Naruto and Sakura in surprise.

"The record stands at fifty wins and forty-nine losses!" came Gai's voice from behind them.

They whipped around in shock.

"When did he…" said Naruto.

"I couldn't even sense him!" added Sakura.

Sasuke glared.

"Let me tell you, I'm stronger than Kakashi!" stated Gai with a grin while flashing the thumbs up.

"_His speed…it's monstrous! Is he even human?!_" mused Sasuke darkly.

"How'd you guys like that? Isn't Gai-sensei amazing?" cried Lee with an 'I told you so' look.

Gai grinned even more broadly at Lee's praise.

"Lee gave you guys some trouble! Please forgive him for the sake of my face. My refreshing face, that is!" said Gai spiritedly.

Sasuke trembled.

"_Damn it! He wasn't bluffing! This guy is definitely stronger than Kakashi!_" thought Sasuke darkly.

"Oh look at the time! You guys best be heading to the classroom soon!" said Gai while lazily hurling a Kunai at the pinwheel toy without looking at it.

The knife effortlessly dislodged the toy, freeing Lee's wrappings. Lee begun to reapply them to his exposed and worn out looking hands. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

"Do your best, Lee! Later!" cried Gai before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

The turtle vanished as well. Once they were both gone Lee turned towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, I'll say this before I go. Honestly, I came here to test my skills. Also, I lied a while ago. The strongest Konoha Genin is on my team," declared Lee.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously while the others gave a start at this bit of news.

"I entered this exam to defeat him. You are one of my targets as well. I suggest you prepare yourself, next time I will finish you!" declared Lee before vaulting over the balcony above him and vanishing from sight.

Sasuke trembled in silent fury.

"Sasuke-kun…" said Sakura worriedly when Sasuke glared at the ground.

"Dude, you suck! It looks like the Uchiha clan isn't as great as I thought," said Naruto with a skeptical look while placing both hands behind his head lazily.

"Naruto!" cried Sakura while glaring at the blond for insulting her crush.

"Shut up! Next time I'll slaughter him," growled Sasuke quietly.

"Yeah sure, you got your ass handed to you so badly it hurt just to watch," reminded Naruto.

"What is your problem, Naruto!?" cried Sakura.

Sasuke glared hatefully at Naruto for speaking the truth. The blond shrugged it off and glanced upward thoughtfully.

"You saw his hands right? I'll bet that Fuzzy Eyebrows guy trained a lot everyday," Naruto stared at Sasuke out the corner of his eye. "More than even you and the rest of us put together."

Sasuke clenched his fist while returning his gaze to the ground. After a moment of silence, he spoke up.

"Good. This will make the Chuunin exam more interesting," he said with a smirk.

Naruto and Sakura smiled as well.

"Yeah!" agreed the blond confidently.

Sakura nodded in pleasure at the sight of the two getting along for once.

"Let's go Naruto, Sakura," said Sasuke with a rare smile.

"Yeah!" cried Sakura and Naruto in unison.

The trio advanced to the hall and their awaiting destiny…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo! It's madman Aninene!! I told you that I would have a chapter ready for you guys. Okay now by show of hands how many of you didn't think I was going to come thru? 1,2,3,4,5,6...

Alright this chapter is noticeably shorter due to the way I plan on doing the Chuunin exam. This is also one of my favorite moments in the anime. Sasuke getting pawned that is. XD Trust me fan girls, the guy needed it. Sasuke was getting just a bit too cocky. (Gets jumped by mob of angry fan girls.) Ahem, Anyhow, did I manage to keep you guys guessing the whole time? Revealing team nine's sensei must've been quite a shocker eh:)

Hey hey, what's this!? Nobody reviewed!! Come on guys, those things are like boxes of candy to me. I want my candy!! I don't mind if you're too lazy to sign in and submit one. I like anonymous reviews too, as long as it's about the fic or just to crack a funny joke that I can use on my friends or better yet, Naruto! Please review, or else I may have to take the mean guy approach that other authors use and not post until I get at least two. I'll let it slide this time. :(

Anywho, on to the disclaimer. I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the anime Naruto. Only my original elements and characters remain my own. Anything other than that belongs to Bandai and it's creator Mr. Kishimoto!

Lastly, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Plus Rank

Sakura - D Minus Rank

Sasuke - D Plus Rank

Sasuke - C Minus Rank using Sharingan.

Iruka - C Rank

Lee - C Rank

Okay, the Chuunin exam starts now. Will it be explosive or insane? Find out in the next exciting installment! Ta ta now!


	8. World Wide Ninja Challenge! part 1

**World Wide Ninja Challenge!**

**The First Test!**

Team seven was graced with the sight of Kakashi standing in front of the large double doors leading to room three oh one. To say the least, the trio were very surprised to find him here.

"So, it seems that Sakura decided to come as well," said the gray haired ninja quietly. "Good, now you three can officially register for the exam."

Everyone wore a confused expression.

"What do you mean by that, Sensei?" asked Sakura with the others exact thoughts.

"Well, to tell you the truth, this exam can only be taken in teams of three," replied Kakashi.

"What? But you said that we could decide whether to take it or not!" exclaimed Sakura with a slight touch of irritation.

Kakashi nodded in the affirmative.

"Yeah, I did indeed say that."

"So you were lying?" asked Sakura accusingly.

"In a way, yes," confirmed Kakashi calmly. "If I had been completely honest with you guys from the start, Naruto and Sasuke would have coaxed you into taking the test if you had chose not to Sakura."

The pink haired girl glanced at her teammates to find guilty looks on both faces. She turned her attention back to Kakashi with a definite note of resentment on her face.

"Since I already knew that you would take the test if Sasuke asked you to, I kept that detail away from you three so that each of you would be given a chance to decide to come yourselves. From that approach, if any one of you decided not to take the test then it would be apparent that the team itself wasn't ready," explained Kakashi.

The trio nodded in understanding.

"So what would have happened if only Sasuke-kun and Naruto came here?" asked Sakura once more.

"I would have prohibited them from taking the exam and not allow them to pass thru these doors," replied Kakashi while aiming a thumb at the double doors behind him. "However, the three of you came here together of your own freewill. You've made me proud today team seven, well done." said Kakashi with a smile.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke smiled at Kakashi's praise.

"Now go, your destiny awaits you," ordered Kakashi while stepping aside so his team could advance.

"Yeah! Let's go!" cried Naruto happily.

Sakura and Sasuke each opened a door and the trio stepped inside…

* * *

"W-wow!" breathed Naruto nervously as he looked around the room.

Said room was packed almost to the point of bursting with what had to be a least a hundred other candidates. All of them were glaring at the trio who were fidgeting nervously like caged animals on display. Only Sasuke, who was glaring right back, seemed unfazed.

"A-are all of these guys taking the exam too?" said Sakura in a frightened whisper to her comrades. "_They all look pretty strong_…" she gulped.

Naruto had just opened his mouth to respond when suddenly…

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" cried a high pitched voiced.

Sasuke had barely started to turn around when he felt someone latch onto his back. The Uchiha glared over his shoulder to find Ino staring into his eyes with a blush.

"I've been eagerly waiting for you ever since I heard that I would be seeing you for the first time in a while!" cooed Ino seductively in his ear.

A vein throbbed in Sakura's temple and she immediately saw red. Sakura pointed at Ino.

"Get away from Sasuke-kun, you Pig!" cried Sakura while using her traditional style of addressing Ino.

"Oh my, it's you Sakura! Your big forehead is wider and you're seem uglier than usual," blustered Ino with a smug smile on her face.

"What was that!?" growled Sakura angrily.

Ino pulled her eye down while sticking her tongue out in the universal 'you're stupid face.' Sakura glared at Ino in a way that promised bloody murder. It turned to one of surprise when another voice spoke.

"Don't tell me that you three are taking this troublesome exam too?"

Everyone looked towards the speaker to find Shikamaru standing next to Chouji with a frown on his face.

"Well well, if it isn't the idiot trio!" taunted Naruto.

"Stop calling us that! Tsk, how annoying," grumbled Shikamaru.

"_Typical. Nara Shikamaru. An annoying and lazy guy who always complains about everything,_" mused Naruto.

Chouji just ate a handful of Barbequed pork rinds.

"_Still eating as usual. Akimichi Chouji. An idiot that only knows how to eat all the time_."

"Sasuke-kun is mine, forehead girl!" taunted Ino at that moment before making the 'you're stupid face' again.

"_Yamanaka Ino. A loud mouth girl who's always fighting with Sakura-chan. A real Sasuke freak too_." thought the blond with a frown.

"Yeah! I found you guys!" cried a loud voice that belonged to Kiba.

This time the boy had a white dog laying on top of his head, unlike at the team selection meeting.

"_Oh great, it's dog boy. This guy is way too annoying! And what's with the dog?_" Naruto frowned.

"Hello," greeted a quiet voice behind Kiba.

Naruto peered around him to find Hinata fidgeting nervously.

"What did you say?" asked Naruto due to the quietness of her voice.

The girl gave a startled oh of surprise before blushing while looking away from Naruto in shy embarrassment. The blond looked puzzled.

"_What's with her? Hyuuga Hinata was it? She seems nice but I guess she's just a bit shy_."

Naruto then glanced at a third guy standing next to Kiba. He had yet to say anything.

"_Aburame Shino's here too eh? S hame I don't know the guy too well. He's seems kind of creepy though_."

"Geez, you guys came too?" grumbled Shikamaru.

"Hey, Naruto!" called another voice from behind the group.

Naruto grinned from ear to ear upon spotting Domino and the others.

"Hey guys!" greeted Naruto and Sakura.

"Awesome! You made it after all!" said a grinning Domino.

"_Shishikura Domino. I can't stress enough how cool she is! A bit odd at times but she super funny and mad strong too!_"

"Right on time by the looks of it," added Genmaru cheerfully.

"_Vaughn Genmaru. Not only is he a cool guy, but he's also an awesome cook! He's pretty strong too, I'd hate to have him for a rival_."

"You guys are amazing! Let's all shoot for the top together!" praised Elaine.

Naruto's heartbeat sped up and he started to blush.

"_Um, Harime Elaine. I don't know why, but whenever she's near I get this funny feeling. It must be her chakra or something. Anyway she's an awesome and positive person! I'm glad we're friends!_"

"Yeah!" agreed Naruto and Sakura.

"Heh, it looks like all twelve rookies are going to compete in this year's exam. How far do you think you'll get, Sasuke?" taunted Kiba.

"You seem pretty confident, Kiba. Is that because you've improved or is it because of your air filled head?" replied Sasuke with a smirk.

Domino giggled.

"_It's rare for him to make a joke!_" thought the lavender eyed girl.

Kiba didn't seem bothered in the least by Sasuke's comment.

"Heh, we trained like hell! We won't lose to you guys!" said Kiba with a superior smile on his face.

The blond took offence.

"Shut up! Aside from Sasuke, I won't lose to you either dog boy!" declared Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun didn't mean it that way," said Hinata while shyly pressing her fingers together.

"What?" asked Naruto. "_I wish she would speak up sometimes!_"

The girl got a surprised reaction at Naruto's sudden attention and looked shyly away with reddening cheeks. Kiba and his dog Akamaru looked at her with worry evident in their eyes. Chouji suddenly stepped towards the dog duo with a almost longing look at Akamaru.

"_Akamaru sure looks tasty,_" thought the fatty with hungry eyes.

Chouji became annoyed when Shino barred his path.

"What?" asked Chouji in a less than friendly tone.

Instead on answering, Shino stared at a small moving object on the ground. Chouji looked as well to find a beetle.

"_Fah, pesky bug!_" thought Chouji as his eyes followed the critter's movement.

He was just considering getting rid of the thing when Shino sharply spoke.

"Don't step on it!" he ordered.

"Huh?" grunted the food lover.

Shino looked directly at him. With his dark glasses, it was hard to tell but it looked like he was glaring at the butterball.

"I said, don't step on it!" he repeated firmly.

"Oh, you're going to eat it?" asked Chouji with a disappointed frown on his face.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Hey you guys!" called an unknown voice at that moment.

They turned towards it to find an older looking guy with gray hair that was tied in a ponytail. He was dressed in purple pants and a purple tunic over a white T-shirt. He had a white belt wrapped around his waist and a pair of glasses that complimented his black eyes. His Konoha forehead protector was secured to his forehead.

"You should quiet down a little," advised the older ninja. "I take it that you guys are the twelve rookies competing this year. Nine of you just graduated from the academy right?"

Everyone merely stared at him.

"I don't mean to be barking orders at you guys, but you shouldn't be fooling around like that. This isn't a field trip you know."

"Oh yeah, and just who are you suppose to be?" demanded Ino.

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto. As for why I'm telling you this, well…take a look around you."

Everyone did so to find over a hundred pairs of eyes glaring at them. They didn't look friendly.

"The guys standing behind you are from the Hidden Rain Village. You don't want to get on their bad side, they have very short tempers. Everyone is a bit tense since the exam will be starting shortly," said Kabuto knowingly. "I'd hate to see you guys get picked on."

"Phew, I'm glad that someone here is nice," said Elaine with a relieved smile. "The tension is overwhelming!"

"Yeah well it can't be helped. You guys didn't know," said Kabuto with a smile. "Reminds me of the old me."

"Kabuto-san, was it? Is this your second time?" asked Sakura.

"No. This is my seventh time." replied Kabuto.

Everyone looked surprise.

"Yeah well the exam takes place twice every year. This is my four year," said Kabuto in response to the group's unasked question.

"Oh, so you know a lot about this exam then," said Sakura.

"That would make you an expert," added Naruto.

"But he hasn't passed it yet," pointed out Shikamaru with a frown.

Kabuto rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed laugh.

"Yeah, that's true!" agreed Kabuto to Shikamaru's remark.

"Geez, is the Chuunin exam really that difficult? How troublesome," grumbled Shikamaru with an annoyed frown.

"Well, since I like you guys I'll give you some information that may be of use to you," begun Kabuto while digging in his pouch.

He then withdrew a deck of cards.

"With these recognition cards," he concluded.

"Recognition cards?" echoed Sakura.

"Simply put, it a card that has information burned into it using chakra," explained Kabuto.

He kneeled and gently set the deck down in front of himself.

"I've been collecting information on the exam for the past four years. There's about two hundred cards total, each with different types of information contained within."

Kabuto flipped one card over to reveal that it was completely blank. Everyone frowned.

"It looks white now, but when I apply some chakra…"

Kabuto begun rotating the card he flipped with one finger while raising his free hand in a prayer position. A small ring of dust gather around the card. A split second later, the formerly blank card now showed a map of the world along with several numbers and symbols.

"Wow! What information is this?" asked Sakura and Domino excitedly.

"A regional map showing the location of each hidden village as well as the total number of representatives competing from each village," replied Kabuto. "Before I go into more detail, tell me why do you think the villages are taking this exam together?"

Nobody had an answer to that question.

"I see. The first reason is to deepen friendship with other countries. The second reason is to increase the level of worthy ninjas. Of course this is only the flowery version, the true purpose of the exam is to confirm the strength of each country and balance out the power."

"Balance out the power?" echoed Naruto with a confused frown.

"And why are they going thru the trouble of doing such a thing?" asked Shikamaru.

"Well, if they don't do this than weaker countries will be invaded by the stronger ones. So it's crucial that they equalize and check each other's powers. Of course, this is just my theory." explained Kabuto.

Domino released an impressed whistled.

"That's one way of preventing excessive fighting!" mused the lavender eyed girl out loud.

The others nodded in agreement. Sasuke then stepped forward.

"Are there any cards with detailed personal information?" asked the Uchiha.

Kabuto's lips curled into a thin smile.

"Is there someone here who interests you?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied Sasuke darkly while narrowing his eyes.

Kabuto wiped the map card blank with a wave of his hand and put it on top of the deck.

"The information on the exam's participants aren't perfect, but I've saved quite a bit of data. There is information on the twelve of you guys as well," said Kabuto with a knowing smile causing the others to grow serious. "Tell me whatever you already know about the people who interest you. I'll look them up for you."

"Sunagakure no Gaara and Konohagakure no Rock Lee," said Sasuke without hesitating.

"Oh, you already know their names. Good then this won't take much time," said Kabuto in amusement.

Kabuto held the deck in front of himself and frowned in concentration. His free hand quickly passed over the deck. He then held up two cards in front of himself while putting the deck back down.

"Here they are," announced Kabuto.

"Show them to me," said Sasuke quietly.

It wasn't a request. Naruto looked back and forth between Sasuke and the cards in confusion.

"_What's going on? Rock Lee I can understand, but why does he want to know about Gaara?_" wondered the blond.

Kabuto pulled Naruto from his musings with his next statement. He set both cards down in front of himself.

"Okay, let's start with Rock Lee."

Like before, he rotated the card until a ring of dust revealed the hidden information. A picture of Lee appeared along with pictures of Gai and the two others guys that were with Lee on the second floor. There were several symbols, numbers and letters detailing the card as well.

"Okay, he's one year older than you guys. His mission experience consists of twenty D ranked missions and eleven C ranked ones. His quad Jounin is Maito Gai. As of late, his Taijutsu skills have increased dramatically since last year but his others skills are terrible. He's got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie Genin, but he didn't take the Chuunin exam. This will be his first time taking it, like you guys. His teammates consist of female ninja Tenten and Hyuuga Neji," he said while pointing to pictures of the guy and girl who were with Lee earlier.

"_So that gray eyed guy was Neji eh? Judging from his family name, he must be related to Hinata,_" observed Naruto.

Sasuke nodded.

"Okay, now lets move on to Sabaku no Gaara," said Kabuto while rotating the other card until the information was displayed. "His overall skills are unknown and I don't know who his squad Jounin is but his teammates are Kankuro and female ninja Temari."

Naruto glared at Kankuro's picture with a soft growl.

"Okay, I don't know how many D ranked missions he has done but he has completed eight C ranked ones and…wow a B ranked mission! This is his first time taking the exam. He's a foreign ninja so I don't have anymore information on him but rumor has it that he has always came back from his missions unharmed!"

Everyone gave a start.

"No way! He did a B ranked mission and came back unharmed!?" echoed Shikamaru in shock.

"_Damn! Who is this guy!? Not even Kakashi-sensei…or Genmaru_…" thought Naruto with clenched and trembling fists.

Even the normally composed Genmaru and Shino looked troubled by this bit of news. Kabuto then flipped his map card back over.

"This year there are exactly seventy-five Konoha Genins, thirty Suna Genins, Twenty-one Ame Genins, fifteen Kusa Genins, twelve Taki Genins, three Oto Genins and three Getsu Genins. In order they are Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound and Moon. All of these guys are talented Genins who hail from their village to 'show off' it's country's power. There are one hundred and fifty nine participants this year. Of the participating villages, Sound is the most recently formed so I don't know very much about it. Regardless, all of them are powerful hidden villages," said Kabuto before placing the cards back on top of his deck with a smile.

"I'm starting to lose confidence," said Hinata with a worried frown.

"What are you talking about!? It's too late to say things like that now!" cried Ino.

"She's got a point there," pointed out Domino with her hands behind her head and one eye open.

"So, all of the nominees here…" begun Sakura.

"Are veterans of exceptional skill," finished Genmaru.

"Right," confirmed Kabuto. "This test won't be easy at all."

Naruto begun shaking at that moment drawing the concerned eye of Sakura.

"_Wow, even Naruto is nervous. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, we are all rookies here. Still, it hard watching Naruto act this way. Maybe I should cheer him up,_" thought Sakura before putting on her best smile. "Hey, Naruto. You don't have to be…"

Naruto bolted upright suddenly before pointing at the crowd with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, listen up! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm not going to lose to any of you! Got that!?" bellowed the blond.

Everyone in the room glared at the blond with the eyes of death.

"Scared," finished Sakura with a sweat drop. "_I should've known that he wasn't worried. I got concerned about him for nothing_." she mused in irritation.

Elaine, Domino and Genmaru chuckled.

"Yeah, you tell em Naruto!" added Domino with a laugh.

"Right, this'll be too easy!" chimed in Elaine cheerfully.

"Ah, what is the matter with you!? Are you trying to get us wiped out!?" cried Ino.

Naruto released a satisfied 'ah.'

"Man that felt good!" he declared with both hands behind his head.

The others smirked in amusement.

"I'm not going to lose to you, he says. You sure you can back up that big mouth of yours, Naruto?" taunted Kiba with a smirk.

"What a moron. You've just made everybody here your enemy," added Shikamaru with a frown.

Before the blond could respond to that, Sakura put him in a choke hold.

"You dummy, I'm on your team remember!? They'll mess with me too!" growled Sakura while squeezing the life out of the blond.

"Ack, b-but…s-s-Sakura-chan…I was just spe…ack…aking the t-truth!" groaned Naruto with what little breath he could manage.

Sakura paused her Naruto bashing upon catching the glaring eye of everyone in the room. She chuckled nervously with a sweat drop.

"Don't pay him any mind! He has a severe mental problem and uh…" stammered Sakura before spinning Naruto around by the collar and shaking him back and forth. "You idiot! I got glared at because of you!"

As Sakura did this, both Genmaru and Kabuto glared out the corner of their eyes. Kabuto's eyes grew wide when an attacking ninja suddenly appeared above him with a pair of Kunai drawn. This ninja had cow hide colored pants and a honey colored T-shirt. His wavy blue hair stuck out of a face guard with the Oto forehead protector perched on it. He hurled the knifes at Kabuto.

The gray haired ninja quickly dodged out of the way of the wave. Only to find another sound ninja directly in front of him when he looked up. This one's face was wrapped like a mummy except for one eye. He had on a gray and black jacket with thick fur on the back of it. He was wearing cow hide pants and his right arm had a huge metal guard on it that looked like a big gauntlet. He attempted to punch Kabuto with a wild swing but the gray haired ninja avoided the blow with a smirk.

Everyone stared in stunned silence except for Genmaru who already had a hand on the handle of his sword in case things got out of hand. Kabuto then grimaced when his glasses suddenly cracked. Kabuto removed them and examined his cracked lens.

"I see, so that's what kind of attack it was," said the gray haired ninja in an offhanded way.

"What's going on!? You definitely avoided the attack, so why did your glasses…?" begun Sasuke before Kabuto abruptly dropped to his hands and knees.

The gray haired ninja then vomited.

"What!?" cried the others in shock.

Quickly Naruto, Sakura and Elaine huddled on either side of the vomiting ninja. The two Sounds as well as a third who was a pretty black haired girl with green pants and a cowhide colored top snickered.

"You're not as good as I thought for a veteran of the Chuunin exam." said the fur jacketed guy.

"Write this in your damn cards! The three from Otogakure will definitely become Chuunins!" the face guard wearing Sound added.

Everyone growled at the trio of Sounds. Suddenly a large explosion rang out in front of the classroom, drawing everyone's attention to the wall of smoke that had formed.

"Quiet down you punks!" ordered a loud voice.

The smoke cleared to reveal a group of sneering Chuunin and a tall guy wearing a black long coat. All of them wore outfits similar to school uniforms that were light blue in color. The tall guy, who was apparently their leader and the speaker from before, spoke up again.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm the examiner for the first test, Morino Ibiki," he said with a smirk that seemed sinister when paired with his scar covered face.

Everyone was stunned into absolute silence. The man called Ibiki then pointed across the room.

"You three from Sound, don't think that you'll be able to do whatever you want during the exam. Unless you're looking to fail already," said Ibiki in a commanding tone.

The three Sounds looked more amused than worried but the fur jacketed guy still apologized anyway.

"Pardon us, it's our first exam so we got a little excited," said the jacket guy with no hint of sorrow in his voice at all.

Ibiki smiled in knowing amusement.

"I'm only going to say this once. Fighting is prohibited during the exam unless an examiner gives you permission. Even then, you are forbidden to kill your opponent. Any fool who goes against the rules will fail instantly. Do I make myself clear?" said Ibiki while coldly glancing about the room.

Everybody grew very serious, save for the Sounds.

"Heh, an exam this wishy washy will be a clinch!" declared the honey T-shirted sound with a smirk.

Ibiki and the other examiners chuckled in amusement. The fool had no idea what he was getting into.

"Alright, we're going to begin the exam now. Turn in your applications, take a number tag and sit where it tells you. Once everyone is seated, we will pass out the papers," stated Ibiki with an emotionless face.

"Papers?" echoed Naruto.

One of the examiners held up a stack of test sheets.

Naruto's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"A WRITTEN TEST!?" wailed the blond.

Naruto's nightmare had come true…

* * *

Once the examinees were all seated, the examiners sat on either side of the testers with clipboards in hand. Everyone awaited further instructions while the tests were being passed out. The blond took that moment to nervously glance around. None of his friends or teammates were visible around him.

"_Crap, we all got separated! What do I do now!?_" thought the blond while grasping his head in dismay.

Sakura, who was sitting three rows behind him, giggled.

"_He's so depressed, a rain cloud could hover over him. This has to be the worst exam for Naruto_," thought Sakura in amusement.

Naruto had put his head down by this point. His mind was a train wreck of curses and complaints at his rotten luck.

"Naruto-kun," called a soft voice next to him.

Naruto looked towards it to find Hinata sitting next to him.

"Ah Hinata, when did you get here?" asked the blond cheerfully. "_I didn't notice her at all. She should speak more_."

"Let's do our best," said Hinata shyly with a warm smile.

"Yeah!" agreed Naruto with an equally warm smile.

A loud tap from the front of the room drew everyone's attention. Ibiki had tapped the blackboard with a stick of chalk.

"The written exam has several rules you are expected to follow. I will not accept any questions so it is in your best interest to pay attention," said Ibiki while slowly glancing about the room. "First rule, you will start with ten points. The written exam consists of ten question with each one being worth one point. The final question will not be given to you until forty-five minutes after the test commences. This is a deduction based test so if you get a question wrong you will lose a point."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Second rule, the pass fail decision will be determined by your team's total points."

An audible gasp sounded throughout the room. Sakura slammed her head on the table before standing up.

"What do you mean by our team's total points determining the pass fail decision!?" cried Sakura.

"Shut up! I'm getting to that so just sit down and listen," replied Ibiki with a glare.

Sakura did so with a frown.

"Third rule, should an examiner determine that you have cheated of done something similar during the test, each offence will cost you two points. I n other words, there will be people who will be asked to leave during the exam," said Ibiki with a thin smile.

There was a murmur of quiet chatter amongst the crowd.

"_He sounds so certain of himself. It's like he knows that people will cheat_," observed Sakura.

"Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only be hurting themselves," continued Ibiki, quieting the crowd. "As you are all trying to become Chuunin, you should act like first class Shinobi."

"We'll check you guys at anytime," added one of the seated examiners with a cruel smile.

Sakura took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

"_Okay, aside from Naruto, Sasuke and I should be okay. Even if Naruto gets a zero we'll just have to make up for it,_" thought Sakura grimly.

"One last thing. If anyone on a team gets a zero, the whole team fails," concluded Ibiki.

Sakura and Sasuke gave starts of outrage. Naruto shank into his chair while trying to make himself as small as possible.

"_I sense two people who want to kill me!_" mused Naruto abjectly with a pale face.

"Naruto-kun?" said a concerned Hinata.

Ibiki continued speaking at that moment.

"You guys have one hour for the exam. Begin now!" ordered Ibiki.

* * *

The rapid clicking of pencils could be heard as everyone wrote their names on their tests. Then as quickly as it begun, the writing stopped. However, Sakura was too horror stricken to care.

"_This is bad! If Naruto screws this up, we're done for!_" thought the pink haired girl.

Across the room, Sasuke was lost in his own dark musings.

"_Damn it! Naruto better not be shaking in his pants already,_" thought Sasuke while glaring at the Naruto's back.

Naruto was holding his head, like a lost soul, in fear of committing chagrin.

"_This sucks, but I've gotten thru worst situations than this,_" thought the blond while trying his best to stay positive. "_Okay, I'll just take it slow. There has to be a problem that I can solve easily enough. Now let's see_…"

Naruto scanned the first question.

"_A cipher eh? Um, lets try the next one_."

His face fell at the sight of the next question…

"_The parabola, B, represents a shuriken's maximum throwing distance of the enemy, A, from a height of seven meters. Figure out the trait of the enemy ninja that can be observed from the ellipse formed by the shuriken and figure out the maximum throwing distance on flat ground. Explain your reasoning,_" read Sasuke before smirking in amusement…

"_This is a really complex question that involves figuring out facts using indefinite conditions. Naruto can't answer something like this!_ _In fact, I don't think anyone here could answer these questions. Most of them are beyond Genin level! _" realized Sakura with wide eyes…

"_I am so dead! What do I do, what do I do!? I-I've got to find a way to cheat without getting caught!!_" thought Naruto while grasping his head again in dismay.

The moment the thought entered his mind, Ibiki glared at Naruto. The blond paled with a sweat drop…

"_Interesting, I don't understand any of these questions at all,_" thought a smirking Sasuke while shifting his gaze to the examiners. "_They seem pretty cautious. It's almost as if they expect us to cheat_."

As if his thoughts were a signal, one of the examiners made a mark on his clipboard.

"_Heh, someone got caught. It's strange really, most exams would result in the offender getting thrown out but here the penalty is only a two point deduction,_" Sasuke's eyes widened in a sudden realization. "_So that's it, this isn't a test of knowledge! It's an elaborate set up designed to test our information gathering skills using camouflage and concealment techniques! If my guess is right, then the examiner wants us to cheat without getting caught. Now that I think about it that way, the whole point deduction system makes sense. So, somewhere in this room, there are planted agents who know the correct answers. Naruto, you better figure this out quick_."

* * *

Across the room from Sasuke, Sabaku no Gaara extended his hand forward. A small ring of sand slowly snaked down his arm into his palm.

"_I see, looks like Gaara is on the move already,_" observed Kankuro before closing his eyes in concentration causing the examiner who had been watching him to look away for other culprits. "_I'm counting on you Karasu_…"

In the center of the room, Akamaru was glancing about with unusual levels of awareness for a dog. The pooch quietly yip in Kiba's, who's head he was laying on, ear. Kiba grinned.

"Yeah, good boy, Akamaru! Next is problem four!" whispered the dog owner proudly to his pup.

Akamaru yipped again before sneakily glancing about for someone who had written the answer…

In the back of the room, the mummy faced Sound had his eye closed in concentration. He was listening to the writing of another tester behind him.

"_According to the rhythm, writing order and stroke number_…" the Sound opened his eye and picked up his pencil. "_I see, so that's it eh?_" he mused before jotting down the answer.

Once he had written the answer down, he swatted away a fly that was perched on his paper. The bug flew off and landed on the finger of Shino who was sitting near the middle of the room.

"What did you find out?" he whispered to the insect.

After listening to it's faint buzzing for a moment, he nodded in understanding. The fly flew off in search of more answers while Shino started writing. Little did he know, a mirror was hovering directly above him.

The mirror was swaying slightly due to several almost invisible threads that were attached to Tenten's finger and pencil. She then begun tapping in Morse code with her free hand towards Lee, who was sitting directly in front of her.

"**Lee, if you can see the answers put your forehead protector on.**" tapped Tenten.

Lee glanced up for a moment before withdrawing and securing his forehead protector to his forehead…

Near the back of the room, Domino was tapping her pencil in boredom with one eye open. She smiled when a small scaly red lizard appeared out of thin air in front of her.

"Alright! I knew it was a good idea to learn this summoning technique!" whispered Domino to herself before picking up the miniature fire lizard and holding it to her ear. "What did you find?"

After a moment, she nodded and set the lizard down. It blended in immediately with the desk to the point where it was completely invisible due to it's chameleon like traits.

"Okay, go tell Genmaru and Elaine then find question seven," ordered Domino before writing down the answer…

By this point, Naruto had put his head down in frustration. His whole body was trembling.

"_Damn it, I'm running out of time! Cheating is the only way now! But if I get caught, Sakura-chan and Sasuke would take the hit too. But if I get a zero then we'll all fail anyway. What should do!?_" panicked the blond.

"Naruto-kun," whispered Hinata drawing the Naruto's eye. "I'll show you my test if you like." offered Hinata with a blush.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

"_No way! She's willing to help me? Why would she do that unless_…" the blond narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "_It must be a trick. But Hinata doesn't seem like that kind of person. Then again, Kiba might have put her up for it_."

After cautiously looking to see if anyone was watching, Naruto turned his head slightly and whispered out the corner of his mouth.

"Hinata, why are you doing this for me?" he asked.

Hinata gasped and stiffened at Naruto's interest in her.

"Well, I…" she swallowed nervously. "I don't want you to disappear in a place like this, Naruto-kun." she replied.

"Hm?" grunted the blond with polite curiosity.

Hinata gasped and she could feel her face heating up.

"Um, well, it's just that we're the only twelve rookies here and…and…" stammered Hinata.

Naruto smiled cheerily.

"Okay, I understand! I'm sorry that I doubted you even for a moment, Hinata! You're a great person!" praised Naruto. "_Yay, how lucky I am! I'm glad Hinata is next to me!_" cheered the blond mentally.

Hinata could feel steam coming out of her ears.

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun!" said Hinata shyly before sliding her test over.

Naruto was just about to lean over when suddenly a kunai whizzed by mere inches from his nose! Naruto gave a start and turned towards the source to find an examiner standing in front of the room. He pointed behind Naruto to a guy who's test sheet had been pierced by the knife.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this!?" demanded the guy behind Naruto angrily.

The examiner smirked.

"You screwed up five times. You fail," said the examiner. "His teammates, get out of here as well."

With defeated slumps, two other guys stood up. All three of them sadly left the room. The moment they were gone, another examiner spoke up.

"Number twenty-three fails. Forty-three and twenty-seven are dismissed as well."

One of the failed testers begun cursing at the examiners while refusing to leave. Two of the examiners seized him and dragged him out. The guy who was number twenty-three begun complaining as well.

"Hey man! What proof do you have that I cheated five times!? You guys are going to stand there and say you can watch over this many…" he begun.

In a flash, an examiner slammed the guy into a wall and pressed his arm to his throat, cutting off the guy's air.

"Listen up, punk! We examiners are elites who have been chosen for this exam. We won't miss a single thing you do, so if we say you fail then you fail. As far as proof goes…" he threw the guy to the floor. "Consider my strength your proof!"

With a venomous glare, the tester stormed out of the room with his last team mate following suit. The crowd begun to murmur amongst themselves in shock but were instantly silenced by the examiners making marks on their clipboards. The test resumed as normal and Hinata shot a furtive glance at Naruto who was still shaken up by the kunai's near attempt at taking his nose off.

"Naruto-kun, hurry and look," said Hinata quietly.

The blond looked towards the examiner again only to find him staring directly at him with a mocking smile in place. Naruto returned his glance to his own paper and smiled.

"Hinata, I'm sorry but I can't do that," whispered the blond out the corner of his mouth.

Hinata glanced at Naruto with a confused expression causing Naruto to grin.

"A great ninja like me doesn't need to cheat and also, I promised some friends that I would become Hokage on my own! "

"Naruto-kun…but…" Hinata glanced at Naruto's blank test sheet.

Naruto shrugged with a careless grin before becoming serious.

"Hinata, I don't want to see you get in trouble because of me."

Hinata gave a flabbergasted start with burning red cheeks at Naruto's thoughtfulness. Realizing she was rudely staring at his smiling face, she adverted her eyes back to her test sheet.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I did something completely unnecessary," whispered Hinata apologetically.

Naruto chuckled.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," reassured the blond before looking to see if the examiner was still staring at him.

Naruto was glad that the examiner was looking elsewhere. He didn't want his tear stained face to be seen.

"_Why did I just do that?! That was so stupid!_" mused the blond while thinking about the golden chance he just gave up…

Near the rear of the room, Neji glared at the back of another tester who had already finished the test. He clasped his hands together in a prayer position and closed his eyes.

"_Byakugan!_"

Neji's eyes snapped open and several veins popped outward around his eyes giving them a rather frightening look. During this time it became easier to see his eye's pupils which blended in perfectly with his iris in color. Neji's scary eyes saw thru the other tester's back, to the completed test. The Hyuuga quickly jotted down the answers…

Sasuke did something similar to another guy who had started writing.

"_Sharingan!_"

Quickly the Uchiha pulled a Kakashi and mimicked the other guy's every move.

"_Perfect, my hand is moving without hesitation! Looks like I got the right guy!_" mused Sasuke with a smirk…

Sakura took a deep breath before her pencil begun zooming about her test at high speed. Had the girl pressed any harder, the lead would have snapped. Two minutes of writing later resulted in a completed exam paper. Little did she know, an old rival was watching her every move.

"_Looks like Sakura is done,_" observed Ino with a smile. "_I'll admit that your wide forehead and intelligence is impressive Sakura. That's why you should be honored to be the victim of this move!_"

Ino formed a prayer position with her index and middle fingers extended on both hand. She then stacked her hands on top of each other before forming as square opening with her hands. Her pinky and lead fingers were pointed upward.

"_Ninpou, Shin Ten Shin no Jutsu!_"

With a sigh, Ino slumped forward as if she was taking a nap. Sakura begun to convulse before closing her eyes as if in a trance. She opened then and smirked in traditional Ino style.

"_What do you think of my Mind Transfer technique, Sakura? I'm going to barrow you body for a little while_," teased Ino to her host body's sleeping mind. "_Now to memorize these answers and give them to Shikamaru and Chouji_." Ino quickly scanned her rival's test…

"Number fifty-nine fails! Number thirty-three and nine are dismissed as well," said an examiner.

Kabuto watched the defeated Genins leave the room with a frown.

"_That's the thirteenth team that has failed,_" observed the glasses less gray haired ninja.

"Number forty-one fails! Thirty-five and sixty-two are dismissed," said another examiner.

"No!" cried one of the failed testers before an examiner backhanded him to the floor.

As this was going on, Ibiki had his eyes on one Genin in particular. Gaara's sand had finally solidified in his palm and was beginning to take shape.

"_Interesting. This guy is going to do this calmly without so much as a twitch. Not bad for a newcomer,_" thought Ibiki with a smirk.

The revolving sand assumed the shape of an eyeball. Gaara then placed a finger to his closed left eye. The new sand eye then showed Gaara an image of himself.

"_Good, the eye's nerves are now connected. Go forth, third eye!_" thought Gaara before crushing the eyeball in his palm.

It turned into nearly invisible particles of dust before traversing the room for answers. An unfortunate guy who has just jotted down the last answer begun rubbing his eye as the sand blinded him.

"Damn it! Something got in my eye!" he hissed in pain.

With him distracted, the sand eyeball reformed over his test and begun swiveling from question to question. Gaara begun writing…

Kankuro raised his hand.

"Excuse me! I have to go to the bathroom," he said to a serious looking examiner with a smile.

The examiner wordlessly stood up and handcuffed Kankuro.

"Regulations state that we have to accompany you," explained the examiner to Kankuro's confused expression.

The cat capped ninja smiled.

"Okay, that makes sense," said Kankuro good naturedly while allowing himself to be escorted to the bathroom.

* * *

While Kankuro took care of his business, the examiner stood to the side to give him some privacy.

"You know, those examiners aren't as good as I thought," said Kankuro with a chuckle. "You would've thought that they would notice an extra examiner, right Karasu?"

The examiner's face crumbled away to reveal a black beady eye…

* * *

"_It's been forty minutes now. Looks like the last question five minutes from now is my only hope. It's all or nothing!_" thought the blond determinedly.

Five minutes passed quickly and the tension was at an all time high. Everyone looked up expectantly at the smirking examiner, Ibiki.

"Okay, I will now give the tenth problem! But before I get to that, let me say this now. There is a special rule that comes with this question," said Ibiki darkly.

The testers begun to fidget at this bit of news. The feeling of restlessness passed quickly when Kankuro and his 'escort' entered the class. The cat capped ninja stiffened when over eighty-four pairs of eyes stared at him.

"You're just in time. Did you have fun playing with your dolly?" said Ibiki with a glare.

Kankuro's eyes widened in shock.

"_He knows about Karasu!?_"

"Anyway, be seated," ordered Ibiki with a frown.

Kankuro quickly obliged. As he passed Temari's seat, he slyly dropped a tiny piece of paper into her waiting palm. Once seated he stood at attention.

"I will now explain the rule…"

* * *

The rookie team's squad leaders were all gathered in the teacher's lounge. They were currently snacking on biscuits with tea. Kakashi sighed after a moment.

"It sure is boring without our subordinates around," complained the gray haired Jounin.

"Yeah, but it'll get pretty busy soon enough," commented Asuma while taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Why do you think that?" asked Kakashi.

Asuma flicked his cigarette's ash into an ashtray before grabbing another biscuit.

"This year's first Chuunin examiner is Morino Ibiki," replied Asuma.

The others gave a start.

"The Morino Ibiki?" asked Sagitario with wide eyes.

Asuma nodded.

"_Looks like this exam is going to be harder than I thought,_" mused Kakashi darkly. "They had to chose that sadist this year eh?"

"Sadist?" echoed Kurenai curiously. "What did he do?"

"You're still a rookie Jounin so it's no surprise that you don't know," commented Asuma.

Kurenai grunted in annoyance at Asuma's blunt statement before pointedly turning to the others.

"Who exactly is he?" asked the red eyed Jounin.

"They say he's a pro," replied Kakashi.

"A pro? At what?" pressed Kurenai.

"Torture and interrogation I believe it was," supplied Sagitario while brushing his bangs gracefully aside.

"What?" said Kurenai in surprise.

In her thirst for knowledge, her resentment at Asuma was momentarily forgotten when he spoke.

"He's right. Now Ibiki won't physically torture anyone during the exam, but I'm sure most of the testers are feeling a lot of stress from his mental attacking techniques. The man is a legend. He's Konoha's chief ANBU and an interrogation and torturing specialist," explained Asuma while lightly sucking on his cancer stick.

"He has a full understanding of human psychology from what I understand," agreed Sagitario while playfully twirling his rose. "He's scary in that he could drive nearly anyone to the point of an emotional breakdown. He'll figure out your weakness in less than an hour into the interrogation. At least, that's what the books say about him anyway."

Kakashi and Asuma nodded in agreement. Kurenai stared at her lap thoughtfully. A rose suddenly landed there.

"If you're interested in learning more about Ibiki, I'll be happy to tell you all about him. What say you to dinner with me tonight, Kurenai-chan?" flirted Sagitario with a dazzling smile.

Kakashi and Asuma sweat dropped while Kurenai smelled the rose.

"I'll think about it," she replied with her eyes closed causing Sagitario to sweat drop.

"Don't tell me…" begun the green haired Jounin.

"Yeah, she knows you're a lecher," said Kakashi with a masked smile.

* * *

Ibiki glared at everyone in the room.

"First, you guys must chose whether to accept the last question or not," stated Ibiki darkly.

Everyone's eyes grew wide.

"We have to chose? And just what will happen if we decide not to answer the question?" demanded Temari.

Ibiki smirked.

"If you chose not to answer the question, your points will drop to zero and your team fails," replied Ibiki.

A murmur of chatter broke out amongst the crowd.

"What's the meaning of this?" said one guy.

"Is he crazy, of course we're going to take it!" said another guy.

"What a load of bull! Where did they find this guy?" said a third.

Ibiki ignored them and spoke up.

"There is, one last rule," he said.

"Another one!? What are you, a retard?!" demanded another guy.

The others were drowned out in a wave of colliding voices when everyone begun speaking at once. They were silenced by the most intimidating glare anyone had ever seen.

"As I was saying. If you chose to take the question but answer it incorrectly, you will lose the right to take this exam ever again!" declared Ibiki.

A fist smashed onto a desk and Kiba stood up with anger etched on his face.

"What kind of dumbass rule is that!?" roared the dog tamer. "Lots of people here have taken this exam more than once!"

Ibiki laughed before staring at Kiba with an expression of pure evil.

"You were unlucky. This year, I am the rule," stated Ibiki. "That is the only reason why I'm giving you the option of quitting."

Kiba growled before becoming crestfallen.

"If you don't feel confident then take your teammates and go. At least that way you'll be able to try again next year after you've improved your skills. The choice is yours," said Ibiki before chuckling.

Nobody moved or said anything. Each person was absorbed in their own thoughts.

"_What a choice! If anyone quits the whole team fails, but if we stay then we're risking being Genins forever. I'm confident that I can answer the question but Sasuke-kun and Naruto_…" mused Sakura.

Sasuke merely glared straight ahead while Naruto was trembling so bad that his knees were shaking. Hinata glanced at Naruto worriedly.

"Let's begin now. Those who will not be taking the tenth question, raise your hand," ordered Ibiki.

At first nobody did anything. Then slowly, a hand rose into the air. The guy sitting next to Naruto stood up.

"Sorry guys, I'm quitting." said the guy sadly.

"Number fifty fails. Number one thirty and one eleven fail as well," said an examiner.

His teammates stood up and they strode sadly out of the room. Their dismissal results in several more hands shooting into the air. The examiners called the numbers of those who raised their hands and several teams quietly left the room. Naruto's shaking grew worst.

"_Naruto, why aren't you raising your hand? Don't you realize what's at sake?_" mused Sakura at the sight of her trembling partner. "_You were always saying Hokage, Hokage like a broken record. I guess, after all this time, I want to see your dream come true too, Naruto. Please forgive me for what I'm about to do_."

With a sad smile, Sakura slowly raised her hand. She paused in mid move when Naruto's trembling hand shot into the air. Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Elaine, Domino, and Genmaru all gave a start. Before any of them could cry out to the blond, he slammed his palm onto the desk and glared at Ibiki.

"Screw you! I'm not going to run away, ya bastard!" cried Naruto heatedly. "I'll take this damn problem and even if I am stuck as a Genin forever, I'll still become Hokage no matter what!"

The blond rose to his feet.

"I'm not scared because I have a promise I intend to keep! Give me your best shot!" he added before plopping back down with his arms folded.

Everyone smiled.

"_He wasn't thinking about us at all. Typical moron,_" mused Sasuke with a relieved sigh.

"_You idiot!_" thought Sakura with a smile.

"_You've come a long way, Naruto. I'm expecting big things from you,_" thought Genmaru with a proud smile.

"_If you every scare me like that again, I'm going to bop you one!_" vowed Domino with a grin.

"_Naruto_…" thought Elaine with slightly red cheeks. "_Thank you_."

Ibiki glared at the blond.

"I'm only going to ask you one last time. This choice will greatly impact your life, are you sure you won't quit?" asked the examiner darkly.

"My answer isn't going to change, old man. Give me your best shot," repeated Naruto with a determined smile.

Everyone in the room smiled.

"_Hm, he's an interesting guy. He wiped away everyone else's doubts,_" observed Ibiki while shooting a glance at the other examiners.

They all nodded in approval. Ibiki returned the nod before facing the remaining examinees.

"I admire you're determination. Very well then, for the first exam you all pass!" announced Ibiki.

All eighty-four remaining testers stared in stunned silence. The spell ended when Sakura abruptly stood up.

"But sir, what about the tenth question?" asked Sakura.

Ibiki laughed.

"There wasn't a tenth question to begin with!" said Ibiki with a grin that contrasted hugely with his scars. "Although, technically your choice to take it or not could be considered the tenth question."

"So the nine questions we did earlier were a waste of our time!?" demanded Temari.

"Wrong, the nine questions had a purpose," contradicted Ibiki. "Your information gathering skills were being tested."

"Information gathering skills?" echoed Temari.

"That's right, the first rule said as much. Your pass fail decision was based on your team. By telling you that, we pressured you into trying not to fail your squads," said Ibiki.

"Right, I sensed something like that earlier," said Naruto with a nod.

"Liar!" hissed Sakura causing Hinata to giggle.

"Yes well, the test problems were designed to be quite difficult for a person on Genin level to answer. With that in mind, most of the people here came to the conclusion that cheating was the only way out. We examiners already knew that you guys would cheat. So we snuck two Chuunin level students in who already knew the answers," explained Ibiki.

As if that was their cue, the two Chuunins stood up and waved before moving to stand next to the other examiners. Naruto grasped his face in shock.

"_No way! I was suppose to be cheating the whole time!?_" realized the blond with saucer sized eyes.

"Oh, it took awhile to find that guy." said one guy.

The rest of the room muttered their agreement. Naruto hid his embarrassment at being the only one out of the loop by laughing loudly.

"Hah, it was so obvious! It would be weird not to notice it! Right Hinata!" said Naruto with a nervous chuckle.

Hinata giggled again.

"_You didn't notice it at all you sham!_" thought Sasuke with a twitching eyebrow.

"Well, as you all saw, those who poorly attempted to cheat were eliminated. This has real life consequences as well," said Ibiki while untying his bandana.

Everyone gasped in shock at the sight of the grisly scars, burns and thumb screw holes littering his head.

"He was tortured!" realized Sasuke with everyone else's exact thoughts.

"Information can have a greater value than your own life during missions. Gathering the wrong information or getting caught while gathering information can cost you or an innocent person dearly. There are times where false information is planted. Being able to gather the correct information is just as crucial. Remember this well," said Ibiki before re-securing his bandana.

"Okay, but why trouble us with a nonexistent tenth question?" asked Temari shakily from the sight of Ibiki's torture wounds.

"The tenth question was the main focus of the exam. Being a take or not take choice, you guys were put under a lot of pressure. If you decided to take it and failed, you would never be allowed to take the exam again. But if you didn't take it, you would be failed and forced to wait until next year for another uncertain chance," said Ibiki darkly. "Now imagine those same questions this way. Let's assume that you have already become Chuunin. The first question now goes like this. Your mission is to capture a scroll, the enemies skills, terrain and traps are unknown. Will you accept the mission and risk the lives of your teammates? Or, for question two, will you decline and risk a possible attack on your village since you didn't act?"

Everyone pondered this for a moment before Ibiki spoke again.

"As a Shinobi, all missions are filled with that risk every time you accept them. A true Shinobi has the ability to show courage to your teammates when needed as well as get thru a difficult situation. This is what we look for in a Chuunin, a squad leader if you will. Therefore, those who cannot bet their fate, those who simply give up when they had a chance to go forward. They don't deserve to become Chuunin as far as I'm concerned. You guys, who have chosen to advance today, right now. You are all true Shinobi," said Ibiki causing everyone to smile with hope filled eyes. "The written exam ends here. Congratulations to you all and good luck!"

Everyone begun to cheer, but non as loudly as Naruto.

"Yeah! Yeah! YEAH!!" cheered the blond while hopping up and down and pumping his fists into the air.

Everyone laughed when he struck a muscle man pose.

"_What an interesting guy,_" thought Ibiki in amusement.

He then abruptly glared at the window. A split second later, it exploded into shards of glass. A large black mass of cloth sailed into the room. It then quickly unfurled due to being pinned to the wall by a pair of Kunai from within the bundle. A petit woman then emerged with a yell while striking a pose.

The woman wore nothing but an outfit made of net cloth. The fabric was just dark enough to hide certain visuals from view but she was wearing an orange mini skirt to further protector herself. She had on a yellow long jacket and leg guards. The woman had purple hair that was messily tied behind her head. Her dark eyes shone with mischief and she was grinning excitedly. In short, she was a female Naruto.

"Alright you lot! This is no time to be happy! I am the second examiner for the Chuunin exam. Mitarashi Anko!!" she cried while pointing to her banner which bore the slogan 'Mitarashi Anko is here!' "Prepare yourselves for the next exam!"

Everyone stared at her as if she were an alien.

"Um, Anko. Grasp the atmosphere," said Ibiki with a sigh.

The petit woman blushed in embarrassment. Everyone sweat dropped with twitching eyebrows.

"Ahem, anyway there's eighty-four of them left. You're getting pretty soft, Ibiki. I wouldn't have expected someone like you to let twenty-eight teams pass," commented Anko while staring at Ibiki out the corner of narrowed eyes.

"There were more excellent candidates than expected," said Ibiki with an amused smile.

"Well, whatever. I'll cut the lot of them in half soon enough," said Anko with a smirk at the testers.

"Cut us in half?" echoed Sakura nervously.

"Mmm, I'm getting excited already," said Anko mischievously while licking her lips. "Alright you lot! You'll receive the details of the second exam tomorrow. Ask your Jounin teachers where the rallying point and time for the meeting is. Dismissed!"

* * *

Naruto had regrouped with Sasuke, Sakura and team nine once they exited the academy. All six of them were chatting animatedly about their success in the first part of the Chuunin exam. Sasuke was smirking but didn't say anything as he walked along with his hands in his pockets.

"Seriously, we'll become Chuunins in no time at this rate!" said Domino with a grin.

The lavender eyed girl was practically skipping in happiness.

"Yeah! The thought is pretty exciting," agreed Elaine cheerfully.

"I wonder what the next exam is going to be like?" said Sakura thoughtfully.

Naruto, who was in the lead of the group with his hands clasped behind his head, spun around and begun walking backwards.

"Whatever it is, it'll be easy for us!" said the blond with a confident grin.

"Right!" agreed Domino and Elaine.

"I don't know, something seems off about that Anko person," said Sakura.

Everyone shuttered at the memory.

"My eyes were being violated!" moaned Naruto in reference to Anko's revealing outfit.

Everyone chuckled except for Sasuke, who gave Naruto a cool look.

"She wasn't much different from you," pointed out the Uchiha.

The girls giggled while Naruto glared daggers at the Sasuke. Genmaru humorously smiled.

"_Sorry Naruto, but he's right about that one. You two are as loud as they come,_" thought the misty eyed ninja in amusement…

* * *

Ibiki paused as he was gathering up the test papers to stare at one in particular.

"Well well, someone got thru this with a blank sheet," said Ibiki to himself with a chuckle. "Uzumaki Naruto eh? He really is an interesting guy."

* * *

It was a windy morning when Naruto and company arrived at the designated meeting site. All of the other examinees were present as well. Anko stood before a large fence shaped in the form of a circle. There was a massive forest in the center of this fence. A river seemed to be running thru it and the top of a tall build was just visible in what looked like the center of the forest.

"What is this place?" asked Naruto in awe.

"Welcome you lot, to the location of the second exam! Training area forty-four, also known as the forest of death," said Anko with a mischievous grin.

A chilled gust of wind picked up at her words…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo! Aninene is here! Just kidding, this is his Editor "Queen Lola!!" As a special treat to you guys, Aninene asked me to comment this time. Let's see…during the editing phase I normally check for spelling mistakes and make suggestions for humor. I was the one who suggested making Sagitario-sensei a lecher. (I love InuYasha's Miroku so I wanted to see something similar, lol.)

Being an editor is pretty fun and a lot of what Aninene writes makes me laugh. I'm trying to talk the fraidy-cat into publishing one of his novels. He always says that he doesn't think it's ready though, aw well. Anyway it was great talking to you guys a little bit. (Anymore and I'll violate the author notes rule.) Here's Aninene with the reviews.

Digi fan: I know! Naruto would have been pretty powerful and maybe even faster than I'm making him out to be in the fic if he trained with weights in the anime. Couple that increased speed with the Kyuubi and watch out! XD

zerodragon: Great, I'm happy to hear that! I've seen so many Fics where just sheer physical speed was Naruto's boost that I wanted to go about it a different way. Hence, chakra based speed! As far as his new techniques will go, expect high speed trashing moves and Jutsu that almost put guys like Hiei from 'YuYu Hakusho' to shame. XD The Elaine and Naruto pairing does have a magical feel to it eh? Trust me it'll have a major impact on the fic, without seeming too romance oriented. I can't wait til we get to that point!

BlackDragon of Karma: Thank you, thank you very much! But it will definitely get even better as the tale continues.

Narutorules: Great! I'm glad you like it so far. Don't worry, the point where the original story changes dramatically isn't very far off. I just need to add a few more elements and you won't even see much of the Canon anymore. :)

Thank you guys!! I can't stress enough how much I enjoy getting reviews! Please keep em coming. :)

Aw man! Disclaimers suck, but it's my job to do this so here we go. I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything else belongs to Bandai and it's creator Mr. Kishimoto!!

My wrist is feeling a lot better lately and I can move it about more easily. I'm still not ready for speed typing yet but I'll speed up a bit for the next chapter thanks to you reviewers. :) It's time for some major changes in the story to occur. Look forward to it!! Ta ta now!


	9. World Wide Ninja Challenge! part 2

**World Wide Ninja Challenge!**

**The Forest of Death!**

The Legendary Forest of Death loomed over the small group of examinees like an unavoidable plague. The darkness and killer intent radiating from its' inhabitants enveloped Naruto's sense, giving rise to a growing feeling of dread. The blond frowned at the forest while shielding his eyes from the sun's glare. Its' warm rays were a nice contrast to the foreboding ring of death.

"This place sure is creepy," whispered Sakura in fright.

Sakura's understatement drew a chuckle from Anko, who had been standing nearby.

"Now you will all experience first hand why this place is known as the Forest of Death," said Anko in an amused voice.

A chill passed through every mind at her calm, yet truly frightening words. Only Naruto was unaffected by her scare tactics. With a snort, the blond dropped into a mocking girly pose.

"Now you will all experience first hand why this place is known as the Forest of Death!" mimicked Naruto advertently.

He straightened up and pointed at Anko with a grin on his face.

"Don't waste your time trying to scare us, lady! It won't work on me at all!"

Anko smiled deceptively sweetly at the blond.

"Really? You sure are energetic."

In a flash, a kunai fell from Anko's sleeve and into her waiting hand. She quickly hurled it at the blond, who wasn't expecting the attack at all. Naruto felt a stinging sensation in his cheek before a trickle of warm blood slid down his face from his newly acquired cut. The knife landed a few feet behind him but not before giving another guy an unintended hair cut.

Anko vanished in a flash of high speed but this time Naruto was ready for her. The blond quickly spun into a sweep just as Anko reappeared behind him. With startled eyes, the petit woman performed a double back flip to safety. She landed with another kunai in hand and an excited grin on her face. Naruto grinned as well while slowly rising back up into a battle ready position.

"Not bad, boy! You may just be able to stay alive after all!" praised Anko with savage looking eyes.

"Heh, you flatter me. I don't plan on dying here!" replied Naruto just as excitedly.

All of the other examinees looked on at the scene with intruded expressions. Nobody really could tell who the winner of this clash would be. Anko abruptly whipped around and pointed her kunai at the throat of the same guy whose hair got cut. This guy extended his astonishingly long tongue with Anko's kunai wrapped in it.

"I believe this is yours," offered the tongue guy with a twisted smile.

"Why thank you," said Anko with a smile of her own that seemed false due to her dangerously quiet voice. "But I suggest that you don't try to sneak up on me like that, if you want to live."

Anko took the knife from the guy's tongue with a smirk. His tongue then slid back into his mouth like a limp ramen noodle.

"Pardon me. I get tingly whenever I see blood," commented the tongue guy while staring at Naruto's bleeding cheek.

He smiled slyly before redirecting his gaze back to Anko.

"Also my precious hair was cut so I got a little excited. If you'll excuse me," he finished while backing away to his teammates.

"My apologies," apologized Anko, clearly not meaning it, to his back before putting both of her kunai away.

Naruto slightly relaxed his guard in the absence of Anko's weapons. Everyone else begun to breath a bit easier as well now that it was clear that a fight wasn't going to break out.

"_What's with this examiner? She's dangerous!_" observed Sakura.

"_That's Naruto for you. That guy seemed kind of cool too,_" thought Domino with an amused smile. "_It's interesting really, with a tongue that long kisses would sure be interesting_."

"_Someone needs a restraining order. She could've seriously hurt someone,_" mused Elaine with a sweat drop.

"_Not bad, Naruto. I have a feeling that you would've won that clash if you guys had fought,_" thought Genmaru with a chuckle.

Naruto glanced at the tongue guy's retreating back.

"_What's up with that guy's freakishly long tongue?_" wondered Naruto with a slight shudder.

Anko grinned and strode back to the front of the group.

"Looks like there are quite a few hot blooded people here today. This is going to be interesting," commented Anko with a chuckle as she passed Naruto.

The blond glared at her back reproachfully while rubbing his smarting cheek.

"_You're the most hot-blooded person here!_" thought Naruto quietly for fear of getting attacked again.

Nonetheless, everyone gave Anko their full attention.

"Before we begin the second exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone," announced Anko while producing several documents from her jacket. "These are consent forms. All of you are required to sign them if you're taking the Chuunin exam."

"Why's that?" asked Naruto curiously.

Since Naruto had earned a bit of respect from Anko, she answered his question without hesitation.

"From here on out, people will die. Therefore, we'll need your consent before we can continue. Otherwise, I'd be held responsible!" replied Anko with a laugh.

Nobody else thought that this was very funny. Anko cut her humor short after a moment.

"Anyway, while these are being passed around…" she handed the stack of papers to Naruto, who took one and passed it on. "I'll explain the second exam. This will be a survival match within the Forest of Death."

"_A survival match? How troublesome,_" thought Shikamaru with a sigh when he received a consent form.

"As you can see, Training Area Forty-four is a circular region surrounded by forty-four locked gates. There is a river, the forest itself and a tower in the center. The tower is approximately ten kilometers away from the entrances. Within this limited space, a competition where anything goes will take place. Your objective is to acquire one of these two scrolls."

Anko withdrew two different colored scrolls from her jacket.

"The Heaven scroll and the Earth scroll to be precise. You will be fighting for them," continued Anko. "Twenty-eight teams passed the first exam. Half of these teams will receive the white Heaven scroll and the other half will get the burgundy Earth scroll. Bring both a Heaven and an Earth scroll to the tower for your team to advance."

"So basically, of the twenty-eight teams competing, the fourteen that have their scrolls stolen will fail," observed Sakura.

"Yes, but you have to steal a scroll within the time limit. The exam is a hundred and twenty hours long or exactly five days," confirmed Anko.

"Five days!?" cried Ino.

"What do we do for food?!" added Chouji with what was for once a wise observation.

"You guys are ninja, scrounge it up yourselves. There should be plenty of food in the forest," replied Anko.

"Beware though, there are a lot of man eating plants, poisonous bugs and poisonous plants," pointed out Kabuto knowingly.

"Oh no!" moaned Chouji causing everyone to sweat drop.

"That's why it's called survival, you fool!" scolded Ino.

"I'm guessing that as teams obtain scrolls, time becomes more limited due to the difficulty of finding the few remaining teams," predicted Neji.

"Constant movement becomes crucial over time. Resting will be risky. Sounds interesting," added Lee with a dazzling smile.

"We're surrounded by enemies at all time. Unexpected attacks will no doubt be frequent," chipped in Sasuke quietly just for the sake of sounding and making himself look cool.

Shikamaru raised his hand.

"Can we quit in-between?" asked the lazy ninja.

"As a rule, once the exam starts you will not be allowed to give up," replied Anko with a frown in Shikamaru's direction. "If you want to quit that badly then just lay low in the forest for the next five days," hinted Anko with an amused smile.

"Damn, how troublesome," grumbled Shikamaru with his arms folded.

"Now since the subject has been breached, there are three conditions that will fail you," declared Anko. "First up, a team that cannot bring both scrolls to the tower will fail. Second, a team who loses or produces an unrecoverable teammate fails. Lastly, any team who look inside either of the scrolls will fail."

"What happens if you look?" asked Naruto warily.

Anko smiled mischievously.

"That's for you to find out!" she replied. "As a Chuunin, you lot will be expected to handle top secret documents during missions. This is to test your reliability as well as your judgment."

Naruto had a feeling that if he did try to violate the rule, it wouldn't be pleasant. Judging by the expressions on everyone else's face, they felt the same way.

"That's it for the briefing. All teams take five to read over and sign your consent forms, then regroup and turn them in to the officials at that stand," ordered Anko while pointing to a trio of examiners sitting behind a wooden desk. "You will then be assigned a gate entrance to start from and given a random scroll. The exam will begin in twenty minutes. Oh, and one last piece of advice…don't die."

Everyone grew silent as the gravity of the situation sank in…

* * *

Sasuke sat alone and quietly observed the examiners. They were hanging and pulling thick curtains shut around the stand so that nobody would be able to see what occurred within.

"_Looks like we won't be able to tell what team has which scroll or who is carrying it,_" observed Sasuke. "_In the battles over the scrolls, we may have to kill each other_."

Sasuke surveyed the other testers who were in sight.

"_Everyone here is an enemy and by the looks of it, their determination is solid. Good, I'll have no regrets_."

Anko, who had been observing the Uchiha, chuckled.

"_Looks like he understands the reason for the consent forms_."

She smirked…

* * *

Sakura was wandering about aimlessly while carefully scanning the content of her consent form. The pink haired girl's eyes hardened in determination with each line of text she read. Needless to say, she was prepared to do whatever it took to aid her comrades. A shrill voice pulled her from her musings…

"Oh my, it's you, Forehead girl!" teased Ino in a tone of mocked politeness. "I thought you already went home! I didn't expect to see you here!"

Sakura smiled back.

"_Two can play that game,_" thought Pinky rebelliously. "Oh my, it's you, Pig! I have to go on a survival mission with Sasuke-kun for five days! There's no way that I could go home!"

A vein throbbed in Ino's temple at the mention of Sasuke. The two girls glared daggers at each other.

"Ugly!" cried Sakura.

"Fat forehead!" countered Ino.

"Porky!" came Sakura.

"Wench!" shot back Ino.

The two girls called each other different names, back and forth like this until they could only repeat the same insult over and over. Shikamaru and Chouji, who were standing nearby, sweat dropped.

"Sakura! You can't get through this! Just go home for your own sake!" cried Ino heatedly.

"You go home, Ino! Save yourself the embarrassment of losing to me during the exam!" retaliated Sakura just as angrily.

The two bickering rivals glared at each other one last time before with loud 'hmps' they marched away in opposite directions. Chouji turned to Shikamaru.

"Why do those two hate each other so much?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't want to know such a troublesome thing," replied Shikamaru with a sigh.

They then hurried after their fuming teammate…

* * *

Like Sakura, Naruto was walking wherever his feet were taking him as he read over the consent form. The blond sensed a presence in front of him after a moment.

"Hey, Hinata! Why are you here by yourself?" greeted Naruto with a cheery wave.

The pupil less girl gave a startled start.

"N-Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Hinata before quickly looking away with a blush. "Um…"

Naruto stared with polite interest in what Hinata was attempting to say. It quickly turned to a frown when nearly a minute passed.

"_Weird girl. Maybe she wants to be left alone,_" thought Naruto with a touch of annoyance.

As this thought entered his head, Hinata had risked looking at him again. She gasped when she saw the cut on Naruto's cheek. Quickly she reached into her pouch and produced a vial of ointment. She took a deep breath and held the vial out with her eyes closed.

"Um, here!" she offered nervously.

Sadly the blond had already moved on by the time she held the medicine out.

"See ya!" she heard him say from somewhere behind her.

Hinata's eyes snapped open in surprise and she turned to watch Naruto's retreating back for a moment before returning her gaze back to the vial.

"_Naruto-kun_…"

* * *

Five minutes went by quickly and soon enough the twenty-eight teams were called in to turn in their consent forms and obtain their scrolls. Before long, Naruto and company entered the enclosed tent. They turned in their forms in exchange for a Heaven scroll. Naruto became the bearer of the scroll. After that, the teams were escorted to random starting points around the forest.

"This is it!" said Domino excitedly from gate sixteen.

"Yeah. Lets do this!" added Elaine before slapping Domino a high five.

Genmaru merely tightened his forehead protector with an excited smile…

At gate twelve, Kiba and company were awaiting.

"Yahoo! Survival is our specialty! Hinata, you better not go soft on anyone!" half kidded Kiba with an excited grin.

Hinata stared at the ground.

"Okay," responded the Hyuuga quietly.

Shino merely pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose…

At gate twenty-seven, Ino and company waited patiently.

"This is troublesome, but I guess we'll have to put our lives on the line," grumbled Shikamaru with a frown. "Let's go after Naruto first, he should be easy to take the scroll from," suggested the lazy ninja with a sudden smirk.

"Let's see, I have potato chips, cakes, rice balls and…" muttered Chouji with a drool.

The butterball plainly wasn't listening. Ino frowned at him with a hand on her hip…

At gate twelve, Naruto and company were waiting.

Naruto was shadowboxing while Sakura observed him without much interest. Sasuke was meditating as usual.

"All right! I'm not going to lose!" cried Naruto while performing a seemingly ordinary seven hit combo which was really a high speed twenty-one hit combination. "We'll beat anyone who gets near us!" he declared before ending his warm up with a simple uppercut.

Sakura nodded in agreement.

"_Hell yeah! Damn it!_" thought the kunoichi.

Sasuke then opened his eyes and glared at the awaiting challenge…

At gate forty-one, Lee and company were waiting. Lee himself was practically bursting with the fires of youth!

"_Gai-sensei! I will do my best! I will win!_" vowed Lee determinedly.

Neji chuckled when he sensed Lee's passionate energy.

"_Typical,_" mused the Hyuuga.

Tenten just playfully twirled a kunai on her finger…

* * *

Fourteen minutes passed and the examiners begun unlocking all of the gates. Anko's voice then rang out courtesy of a megaphone.

"Let the Chuunin exam, begin!" she cried.

In a flash, the gates burst opened and every team dashed into the forest to begin the hunt! Elsewhere, Kiba and his teammates came to a stop.

"Okay, we're going to look for the thing we talked about earlier! Can you find them, Hinata?" asked Kiba.

"Right!" replied the Hyuuga before clashing her hands together in a prayer position. "Byakugan!" she cried…

Not too far away, Lee and the others were leaping speedily from tree to tree in search of opponents. Lee was in the lead.

"Don't get so hasty! We could get attacked at any moment!" stated Neji who was only two leaps behind the spandex wearing fighter.

"Yeah, we just started!" added Tenten who was one leap behind Neji.

"I know guys, but when I think of all the strong opponents waiting for us I just can't stay still!" replied Lee before increasing his pace.

The others smiled knowingly and speed up as well…

Genmaru and the others came to a halt upon reaching the river.

"Let's camp here. The other teams are sure to come here soon," suggested Genmaru with a knowing smile.

Elaine and Domino nodded. It seemed like a pretty solid plan, since a canteen would run empty in no time in the stifling heat of the forest.

"Should we prepare a little surprise for our guests?" asked Domino with a mischievous glance at Elaine.

The blue haired girl caught her meaning and smiled back.

"Okay," she said while forming seals.

Elaine kneeled in front of the river and stuck her hand out with her eyes closed. Slowly, a blue glow radiated from her palm…

Near the border of the forest on ground level, Shikamaru and company were stealthily scouting for danger. Ino flinched upon hearing a loud crunching sound. She turned towards Chouji with a frown.

"What the hell are you doing?" demanded Ino.

"Well, I got hungry," replied Chouji before stuffing his face with a handful of chips.

Ino sweat dropped.

"How can you be hungry at a time like this?" asked the blonde girl.

Shikamaru strode towards them with a smirk.

"What a record, you actually lasted five minutes," joked Shikamaru.

Chouji grinned before holding out the bag.

"What some?" he asked his comrades.

Ino glared at him.

"If you had room for all those snacks then you should've brought another kunai or two!" scolded Ino.

Shikamaru stiffened suddenly.

"Guys, hide!" cried the lazy ninja.

Immediately Ino dove into some bushes. Shikamaru grabbed hold of Chouji's scarf and dragged him into the foliage as well. The trio were just in time it seemed. Barely a second passed before another team of ninjas touched down in the spot they had been standing earlier.

"See anyone?" asked one guy.

"No but I'm positive that I sensed somebody here," replied another guy.

"They must've ran off," suggested the third guy. "Let's go!"

The trio took to the trees once more. Shikamaru and the others exhaled the breath they had been holding once the enemy ninjas were no longer detectable within the surrounding area.

"We had to deal with this for the next five days?" groaned Shikamaru…

Kiba was explaining their course of action to his teammates.

"Everyone will be headed towards the tower, right? I propose setting traps around there after we get a scroll," suggested Kiba.

Akamaru stirred and begun sniffing the air. Kiba and the others went on alert.

"Looks like we have company, guys," whispered the dog tamer while warily glancing around.

As they glanced about for the new enemies, said ninjas were whispering amongst themselves in the treetops.

"Perfect, they're just a bunch of kids," said one with a grin.

"Amateurs judging by how they're waiting for us in the opening like that," commented the another guy.

"Looks like they know we're here but they don't know our location yet," pointed out the third guy.

Suddenly, one of them grunted in pain. His comrades turned towards him with concerned expressions.

"What's wrong? You don't look so good," said the second guy.

It was true, the first ninja's skin was pale and waxy looking. The back of his shirt suddenly started to move about violently. It fell down to reveal a giant leech like creature latched onto the guy's neck. A huge puddle of blood was beginning to stain his clothes. He fell out of the tree weakly. The other ninjas gave starts before similar bouts of weakness overtook them as well. Leeches were attached to their bodies as well.

"What the hell are they!?" cried the third guy before several more leeches suddenly landed on them from the trees above.

They too fell from the tree they were perched in. Kiba and company approached the downed ninjas with victorious looks.

"How do you like our little surprise?" taunted Kiba with a smile.

"Those are Konoha's giant leeches. They can detect perspiration and body heat within a span of five meters and they'll attack the source in large groups," said Shino quietly. "If they suck your blood for about five minutes…you'll die."

The enemy ninjas gasped in shock and feebly attempted to rise to their feet. However, one of the weakened ninjas accidentally triggered a nearly invisible tripwire. Instantly, the trio were captured in a fishnet trap that had them dangling several feet into the air. The leeches that were still attached to them continued to suck their blood greedily. They all screamed…

* * *

Naruto and the others stiffened. This was the second time that someone had cried out.

"Okay, I'm starting to get just a tiny bit frightened," whispered Sakura nervously.

Naruto laughed with his hands clasped behind his head.

"Relax, Sakura-chan! It's nothing to worry about!" declared the blond.

Suddenly Naruto frowned. Instantly Sasuke and Sakura when on guard, until Naruto spoke again.

"I need to pee!" he moaned while rushing to some scrubs.

The blond just begun to unfasten his pants when Sakura whacked him as hard as she could in his head.

"Itai!" Naruto cried.

"You idiot! Don't do that in front of a lady!" roared Sakura before pointing to a tree. "Go over there and take care of your business!"

"Alright alright, I'm going!" grumbled the blond reproachfully.

While Naruto was doing lord knows what behind the tree, Sakura begun a mental rant.

"_That boy seriously need to work on his manners! Honestly, what goes on in his head? Sasuke-kun never behaves like that! If he ever does manage to attract a girl hopefully he won't do anything stupid around her!_"

Sakura took this moment to glance at Sasuke, who was standing quietly to the side with his hands in his pockets. He appeared to be in deep thought.

"_Sasuke-kun hasn't spoke very much since his fight with that Lee person. I hope he'll cheer up soon, besides that guy's strength was unfair! He must've trained a lot to be able to move like that. It's the only explanation I can think of for his speed since Kabuto-san's cards said that his chakra skills were poor. Maybe I'll ask Naruto to show me how to do it,_" decided the kunoichi.

At that moment, said blond wandered back into the clearing with a stupid grin on his face.

"Ah, I peed a lot!" cried Naruto cheerfully.

"_Then again, maybe not,_" though Sakura in disgust. "I told you not to do things like that in front of me!" she scolded while raising her fist for another 'correctional tap.'

Oddly enough, Sasuke beat her to it with a vicious backhand. Naruto went into a triple spin in midair before smashing into the base of a nearby tree. Sakura gasped.

"Sasuke-kun! You didn't have to go that far!" cried Sakura worriedly.

The Uchiha ignored her and rushed Naruto again. Before the stunned blond could gather his bearings, Sasuke scored a brutal kick into the side of Naruto's face. The force of the blow caused him to roll sideways for several feet. Sasuke wasn't letting up there though, quickly he ran up the side of the tree and boosted off into a lunar somersault. He allowed gravity to seize him for a powerful double stomp into Naruto's midsection. However, the blond had recovered enough to dive out of the way of the attack just in time.

With a grunt, Sasuke ended up smashing a small fissure into the earth due to his miss. He quickly attempted a spinning power sweep aimed at Naruto's head. In a flash, the blond took to the air and landed safely on a overhead tree branch. Sasuke followed suit and use the lower half of the branch to swing himself up like a gymnastic. The result was a dislodging kick into Naruto's back that sent him tumbling to the ground. Naruto landed with a boom on his hands and knees, kicking up a wall of dust in the process. Sasuke touched down a few feet away with a kunai drawn. The blond shakily rose back to his feet.

"Y-you…what the hell are you doing, Sasuke!?" groaned Naruto with a glare.

Sasuke slowly begun walking towards the blond with no emotion present on his face.

"Sasuke-kun! Please stop!" begged Sakura in another attempt to break up the fight.

Sasuke ignored her once again and lunged. With a tsk, Naruto drew a kunai of his own and countercharged. Their clashing knifes erupted into hot showers of sparks. After three parried attacks, the sparring warriors were locked in a stalemate. Quickly Naruto went into a sudden spin in an attempt to throw Sasuke off balance, but the Uchiha wasn't fooled. Sasuke ducked under Naruto's spinning slash and thrust his kunai towards Naruto's exposed back. Sensing the attack coming, Naruto lunged forward into a reversed forward flip that ended with him facing Sasuke. Naruto assumed a ready position.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura for a third time.

This time Sasuke responded.

"Sakura! Take a good look at him!" ordered Sasuke without relaxing his guard in the slightest.

"Huh?" said Sakura in confusion before shifting her gaze towards Naruto. "_He doesn't look any different_."

Sasuke's next statement said otherwise.

"Spill it, imposter! Where's the real Naruto?" demanded Sasuke.

Naruto and Sakura gasped.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" cried Naruto with wide eyes.

"Don't lie to me! If you're the real Naruto then where is the wound on your face, huh?" countered Sasuke.

The blond paled while Sakura gasped again in understanding this time.

"_It's gone!_" she realized.

"No answer huh? Figures, you're even worst than Naruto at transformations, you sham!" said Sasuke darkly. "If you want more proof then note this, your shuriken pouch is on your left leg. The real Naruto is right handed."

"Heh, looks like you found me out!" confessed the blond with an uncharacteristic sneer.

The fake then went up in a cloud of smoke. It cleared to reveal a Rain ninja dressed in a pale yellow jumpsuit. He had on brown combat boots and a re-breather device. A white mask framed his black eyes.

"I'll get straight to the point. Which one of you guys has the scroll?" demanded the Ame.

Sakura withdrew a kunai and assumed a battle position next to Sasuke.

"Don't be like that, guys. Just hand over the scroll quietly and I'll spare your lives," declared the foreign ninja.

Sakura and Sasuke's silent glares shot down his request.

"I see. Looks like I'll just have to take it by force then!" he roared before charging at the duo.

Quickly Sasuke took to the air with a high jump.

"_Guess now is as good a time as any to try out my new Balsam Spread Fire technique,_" plotted the Uchiha while forming hand seals. "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" bellowed Sasuke while taking a deep breath.

He then begun firing a volley of fireballs in a very Genmaru-ish fashion. Quickly, the Amegakure ninja danced around the raining flames despise the sizable fire filled craters that spawned upon impact. The Rain quickly leaped towards Sasuke, forcing him to cut the technique short. Their colliding kunai rang out with loud shings. Sasuke kicked him in the stomach and boosted off higher into the air, while the Rain touched down on a tree branch and begun quickly hopping about. With his new vantage point, the Uchiha spotted Naruto bound and gagged behind the same tree he went to use the bathroom behind.

"_Moron!_" thought Sasuke in annoyance while hurling a shuriken at the blond.

The flying star cut through enough of the bindings to the point where Naruto was able to free himself. He grumpily jerked the duct tape off of his mouth with a wince.

"I'm going to kill that bastard!" roared the blond angrily while stripping off his weights.

Sasuke allowed gravity to seize him and he guided his fall towards a tree branch. However, the Rain ninja had leaped upward directly behind the Uchiha.

"Lucky me, I see an opening!" taunted the Ame.

The foreign ninja quickly hurled a swarm of kunai and wooden handled swords at the Uchiha. Caught in midair with his back turned, the wave pummeled Sasuke who cried out in pain. One of the kunai, which had an explosive note tied to the ring, detonated.

"Sasuke-kun!" wailed Sakura.

The Rain ninja appeared behind her with a kunai posed over her throat.

"One team down! You may as well fork over the scroll now, little girl," taunted the Rain in Sakura's ear.

"Not quite," cut in a voice behind the Rain.

He quickly looked over his shoulder to find the Uchiha glaring at him.

"_A Kawarimi?!_" thought the Ame with wide eyes.

Sasuke quickly grabbed the Rain by the waist and lifted him up and over his shoulder into a brutal smash technique.

"Now, Naruto!" cried Sasuke.

Naruto suddenly appeared out of thin air in a forward flip position with his legs bunched up. The blond then lashed out with a kangaroo kick that launched the dazed Rain seven feet into the air. In a flash of high speed, Naruto was directly in front of the flying Rain with his fist reared back. The blond rapidly begun beating the snot out of him with a barrage of nearly endless punches. Naruto then form a hand seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried spawning two shadow clones.

One of the Narutos hit the Rain with a lethal Haymaker that propelled him a few more feet into the air. A second flipped over the shoulders of the first Naruto to pull of another kangaroo stomp, launching him higher still. The last Naruto leaped from the shoulders of the second to take hold of the Rain's legs and wrapped his own legs around his waist. By this point, they were a good thirty feet in the air.

"Uzumaki Power Bomb!" cried the Naruto that had the Rain's legs bound.

With that, gravity completed the move with a freefall. The terrified Rain ninja screamed the whole way down. They hit the earth with a ground shaking boom that sent a large wall of dust into the air. When the dust cleared, Sasuke and Sakura cautiously approached the six foot deep crater and peered inside. The Rain ninja's head, or what used to be a head was now nothing more than a splatter of tissue, brain, and…water! The mangled Naruto that was in the crater with him vanished in a poof of smoke. The real Naruto appeared in-between his comrades in a flash of speed. He paled upon seeing the gory mess in the crater.

"I-I didn't…it was an accident!" stammered the blond until he noticed the absence of blood. "Is that…a water clone?"

"Yeah. That guy is still alive," confirmed Sasuke.

As if this statement was his cue, the Rain's voice echoed throughout the clearing.

"Oi oi oi, it looks like a direct confrontation would have been very unfavorable for me after all. Very well, you guys win this round. But next time we fight, will be your undoing!" declared the unseen Rain before becoming completely silent…

* * *

A trio of Cloud ninjas came to a halt in front of the river. The leader of them, who was constantly scowling, nodded to each of them. They nodded back. The message was clear, "Spread out and search for anything suspicious." As his comrades walked toward opposite ends of the river, the Kumo leader slowly approached the running body of water before him. His eyes never stopped moving even as he kneeled down to fill his canteen. Had he kept his eyes on the water itself, he would have seen the sphere of the fluid hovering in front of his heart…

The second Kumogakure Genin was a quiet guy with a well muscled frame. He was barely even paying much attention to his surroundings at all. His eyes remained glued to the river hungrily. He was dying for a taste of the wonderful smelling thirst quencher. His thirst was so strong that it must've been playing tricks on his mind because the ground felt like it was trembling. His eyes lowered in time to see a stone hand pop out of the earth…

The last Cloud was just as alert as his leader had been. So naturally, hearing the cries of his comrades made him rush back to the separation point. He flinched when he saw the gaping hole in his leader's chest. There was no blood, but his heart wasn't there ether. The Cloud paled and drew a kunai from his pouch. He slowly revolved on the spot in search of the culprit responsible for this. Before he could even blink, he felt pressure on his shoulders. There was the scrap of metal on bone. A brain covered blade then erupted from his chin…

* * *

Kiba and company were on their way to the tower by this time. The dog tamer cheered as they leaped from branch to branch.

"Talk about lucky! It's a good thing that other squad we caught had the other scroll! We might just make it to the tower first!" he gushed. "Just two more kilometers to go!"

Shino sped up until he was leaping besides Kiba.

"Do not get too carried away. Doing so is dangerous. Even a small bug protects itself by staying alert so that it may avoid enemies. This is safe," he lectured in a monotone.

"I know that! Geez, you talk in such a weird way," grumbled a frowning Kiba. "Typical bug freak."

Kiba and Akamaru sped up, leaving a frowning Shino trailing after them. Hinata spotted Shino's expression and decided to defend his argument.

"Um, there's some truth to what Shino-kun said. We really should be careful, Kiba-kun," reasoned Hinata quietly.

Kiba sighed.

"Alright already!" he grumbled before taking a whiff at the air.

Abruptly he and Akamaru came to a halt. Hinata and Shino landed on either side of them with their guards up.

"Did you detect something?" asked Shino.

"Yeah," replied Kiba with a nod while pointing ahead. "Hinata, can you scout ahead one kilometer?" he requested.

Hinata nodded and made a seal.

"Byakugan!"

Her eyes snapped open with throbbing veins surrounding them. It was a few moments later when she spoke.

"There's somebody up ahead," she reported.

Shino kneeled and pressed his ear to the tree's bark. He too nodded after a moment.

"There are at least six people," he confirmed quietly.

"Really? Then let's go take a closer look!" suggested Kiba with a grin. "We might see some awesome fighting!"

Hinata and Shino looked at him like he was an insane person.

"Kiba, have you lost your mind? We cannot do that!" scolded Shino.

"Aw, come on! Live a little, besides the examiner told us to bring a set of Heaven and Earth scrolls to the tower. She didn't say anything about bringing more than one!" reminded Kiba with an even broader grin on his face. "If we take more scrolls now, then more teams will drop out right? So what are we standing around for?"

"But, Kiba-kun!" begun Hinata with her usual backup for Shino.

Kiba wave it aside.

"We'll just observe the fight first. If they seem too strong for us when it's over then we won't do anything," declared Kiba before leaping in the direction of the action.

Shino stared at his retreating back for a moment before speaking in an offhanded way. Not that Hinata could tell due to his lack of facial expressions.

"I kind of hate him," murmured Shino before following after Kiba.

Hinata brought up the rear…

By the time they had caught up to Kiba, they found him trying to soothe a trembling Akamaru. The white pooch, was curled practically into a ball with fear. Had he shook any harder, the bushes that they were hiding behind would've started rustling.

"What's wrong with Akamaru?" asked Hinata worriedly when the pup crawled into Kiba's jacket.

"Akamaru got frightened after he sniffed out the enemy's chakra. His nose is acute enough to be able to detect how strong someone is based on their chakra alone. Honestly, this is the first time that I've ever seen him so frightened," explained Kiba. "The guys fighting here are amazingly strong."

Everyone peered through the foliage they were concealed behind in search of the fearsome chakra. What they saw were a trio of Rain ninjas facing off against Gaara and his squad.

"You Sand brats got balls challenging us head on!" cried one of the Rain ninjas cockily.

"Got a death wish?" asked another Rain.

The Rain leader just stared at Gaara in silence. Gaara stared right back with no emotion present on his face whatsoever. After a moment of this, the Ame leader spoke directly to Gaara.

"Kid, you should be more careful of who you try to fight. Now you're all going to die," he declared with a wicked smile.

"Cut the crap. Let's fight, old man," shot back Gaara quietly with his arms folded.

The Rains growled. Kankuro then spoke up.

"Hey, Gaara! Shouldn't we gather more information on them before picking a fight? If they have the same scroll as us then this is just a waste of…" begun Kankuro.

"I don't care," interrupted Gaara without even sparing a glance his way. "I'll kill everyone we encounter."

Kankuro remained silent. At this point, trying to reason with Gaara had just became pointless. The Rain leader grasped the handles of all four of his parasols.

"Well then. Let's do this," said the Rain darkly.

Quickly, he snapped his umbrellas open and tossed them into the air. They begun to rapidly spin while hovering in place. The Ame formed a seal with just his index fingers extended.

"Ninpou, Jouro Senbon!" he cried the name of his Sprinkling Needles technique.

Just as the name implied, Senbon begun raining from the rotating parasols in the hundreds. The very air the needles occupied turned black as they surrounded Gaara on all sides. Gaara and his teammates barely batted and eye when the needle storm moved for the kill. A wall of dust rose into the air upon impact. When the dust cleared, Gaara remained standing completely unharmed. The needles had been stopped by a barrier of sand!

"What!? No!!" cried the Ame ninjas in shock.

The sand and all the needles with it dropped lifelessly to the ground.

"Is that it?" asked Gaara in an almost bored tone of voice.

Angry and full of desperation, the Rain leader's teammates hurled more Senbon at Gaara. The Rain leader then used his chakra to speed up the needles to the point of being blurs. A wall of sand intercepted the projectiles, but never once did Gaara move. The Rain trio's mouths hung open in total awe.

"A rain of needles eh? Well then, I'll make a rain of blood fall," said Gaara darkly…

Kiba and the others stiffened. Gaara's chakra felt enormous! Even though the Sand wasn't showing any signs of energy gathering, it still fogged their minds with alien pressure. Also, Kiba was certain that Gaara's sand smelled of blood. The Rain leader begun speaking.

"My attacks are being blocked by a wall of sand?" he mused aloud.

"That's right," confirmed Kankuro. "It's the ultimate defense. Gaara controls the sand in the gourd and hardens it with his chakra. However, this technique protects him from all outside attacks regardless of his will. You guys can't defeat our Gaara."

The Rain growled and suddenly charged.

"I'll show you!" he cried.

Gaara formed a pyramid with his hands. Kankuro and Temari smirked, this fool was so dead. Gaara's right hand then curled as if he were holding a baseball.

"Sabaku Kyuu!" he cried while thrusting his hand forward.

The Rain came to a complete halt. Gaara's sand, that now littered the ground, snared the Rain's body like an anaconda. Not even five seconds passed, and the Rain was buried from the neck down in sand. The Rain cried out as the sand mound begun to compress tightly around his body. His hovering parasols dropped to the ground. Gaara caught one in midair with his other hand and raised it over his head as if it really were going to rain. He then raised his right hand slowly into the air. The imprisoned Ame begun to levitate making his teammates cry out in alarm.

Gaara glared into the eyes of the Rain one last time. His hand closed into a fist.

"Sabaku Shosho!"

The sand instantly condensed into a small ball. Just as Gaara promised, blood rained from the liquefied body of the crushed Rain ninja. Only his head and its' none seeing eyes remained unharmed. Everyone got covered in blood except for Gaara, who was shielded by the parasol. Kankuro and Temari were fortunate of being out of range of the spray so they weren't covered in the fluids either. Gaara stared at the remaining Rains, who had no chance of finishing this exam now.

"There was no pain. He didn't have time to feel it. He should feel honored, his blood and tears will quench mother's thirst," drawled Gaara.

The Rains had no idea what he meant by quenching his mother's thirst and they didn't want to find out either. One of them quickly produced the Heaven scroll from their pouch. Judging by the glint in Kankuro's eyes, it was the one they needed. This Rain set the scroll down in front of himself and backed away from it.

"We'll give you the scroll just let us go okay?" pleaded the Rain.

Wordlessly, Gaara tossed the parasol aside and raised both hands towards the Rain. They barely had time to scream before they too were encaged. Gaara didn't allow them the kindness of sparing their heads. The completely covered Rains were totally liquefied the moment Gaara's twin fists were formed…

Team Eight was stunned speechless. The ease in which the Rains had been beaten was frightening to the extreme. Kiba and company glanced back and forth between each other fearfully and quietly tried to sneak away unnoticed. "These guys were dangerous" was their only thoughts. They froze when they felt Gaara's chakra spike again. They glanced over their shoulders to find the redhead glaring directly at the scrubs they were still concealed behind.

"_Crap! Did he notice us?_" thought Kiba fearfully…

Kankuro held up the Heaven scroll and stared at Gaara with a smirk. Gaara's eyes were still locked onto the scrubs. Something had moved, of that he was certain.

"Hey, let's stop now, Gaara," suggested Kankuro drawing a glare from Gaara's teal eyes.

"Are you afraid now, coward?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice.

Kankuro became irritated.

"Listen Gaara, you'll be okay but Temari and I are a lot more vulnerable. Since we have a set of scrolls, lets just go to the tower for now," he repeated more firmly while approaching the smaller ninja.

Gaara raised his right hand again. Kankuro stiffened.

"Don't order me around," murmured Gaara while aiming his hand towards the scrubs he had been looking at.

Kankuro seized Gaara by his collar.

"Damn it, Gaara! Listen to what your older brother says once in a while!" yelled Kankuro directly at his face.

Gaara's emotionless expression never wavered.

"I have never thought of you two as siblings. If you get in my way, I will kill you," promised Gaara before knocking Kankuro's hand away from his shirt.

He raise it into the air again.

"Please, Gaara! Don't be so cold!" begged Temari while raising her hands in a gesture of peace. "Please stop, as a favor to your big sister!" she smiled hopefully.

Gaara glared for several long seconds at Kankuro while sand gathered into his palm. Kankuro flinched when Gaara snapped his fist closed, but he was unharmed. Gaara reopened his hand to reveal a cork, which he sealed his gourd with. Wordlessly he strode in the direction of the tower. His siblings silently followed him. Team Eight was left alone, to exhale the breath they had each been holding…

* * *

Sasuke and the others went on high alert after hearing the last scream. They huddled together in a circle to plan their next move.

"The situation has gotten pretty extreme right now. That last attack proved it, we need to come up with someway to be able to identify each other if we get separated," suggested Sasuke. "The possibility of someone transforming into one of us and trying to approach is great."

"Right," agreed Naruto, now reequipped with his weights.

"So what should we do?" asked Sakura.

"Let's decide on a password," replied Sasuke.

"A password?" echoed Naruto.

Sasuke nodded.

"If an incorrect password is given, assume that that person is an enemy. Now listen carefully, I'm only saying this once," said Sasuke darkly. "Ask for the ninja song 'Ninki,' answer with the following. It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts even in a quite place, it is important for a Shinobi to know the right time, the time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down."

"Got it," said Sakura with a confident smile.

"Could you say that one more time?" requested Naruto with a frown.

"Idiot, I say that I was only going to say it once," grumbled Sasuke.

"Naruto, you couldn't remember that at all? I already memorized it!" rubbed in Sakura smugly.

Naruto couldn't help but be slightly annoyed with Sakura, but he kept his cool anyway.

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? I memorized it too!" lied Naruto. "I just wanted to make sure by hearing it one more time!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up.

"I'll hold onto the scroll," said Sasuke.

Seeing the logic behind having a solid protector to act as a distraction, Naruto handed Sasuke the Heaven scroll. Sasuke had just pocketed the roll of parchment when suddenly a strong gust of wind picked up. The current very nearly blew Sakura onto her rear. Sasuke and Naruto shielded their eyes.

"What's going on!?" cried Naruto.

Naruto never received an answer. At that moment, an even stronger gust of wind picked up that even managed to send the weighted down blond flying. The trio sailed into the forest in different directions. Sasuke landed in some scrubs and anchored himself in place using his kunai. A minute later, the wind finally died down. Sasuke glared in the direction of the wind storm towards a slowly approaching killer intent. Abruptly the Uchiha whipped around upon sensing a presence behind him.

"Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura suspiciously.

Sasuke raised his kunai with a glare.

"Stay back! What's the ninja song, Ninki?" demanded Sasuke.

Sakura sighed in relief.

"_It's him,_" mused Sakura. "It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts even in a quite place, it is important for a Shinobi to know the right time, the time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down." she recited.

Sasuke relaxed his guard.

"Okay. Are you alright, Sakura?"

"Yeah," replied the bubblegum haired girl.

At that moment, a familiar 'itai' sounded.

"Naruto?" called Sakura.

Said boy begun running towards the duo.

"Hey guys, are you alright?" asked Naruto excitedly.

Like before, Sasuke halted him with a raised kunai.

"What is the ninja song, Ninki?" he demanded.

The blond grinned.

"I know! It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts even in a quite place, it is important for a Shinobi to know the right time, the time when the enemy is tired and has his guard down!" recited Naruto.

Sakura breath a sigh of relief, but Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously. Quickly the Uchiha hurled his kunai at the startled blond. Naruto only just, dodged out of the way of the projectile.

"What are you doing, you jerk!?" cried Naruto angrily.

"Not bad, this time our opponent is good enough to evade my attacks, Sakura," said Sasuke while sinking into a battle pose.

"What are you saying, Sasuke-kun? Naruto gave the correct password!" pointed out Sakura in confusion.

"That's just the problem. Do you really think that Naruto could remember something that long?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura frowned. Now that she thought about it, Naruto's memory was pretty much limited to no more than three sentences at a time. She too glared at the blond, who begun to fidget.

"Looks like there are a lot of wannabes in this exam," murmured Sasuke with a smirk.

The blond laughed before licking his lips with a freakishly long tongue. He then went up in a poof of smoke. When the cloud cleared, the tongue guy from before stood in Naruto's place.

"Answer me this, if you knew he was going to forget then why didn't you make up a shorter password?" he asked.

Sasuke smirked.

"I sensed you eavesdropping on our conversation from underground. Since Naruto is the easiest personality in our group to mimic, I made a longer password. If you had been the real Naruto, your answer to the ninja song Ninki would have been; what was it again?"

The tongue guy smiled.

"Interesting, you don't let your guard down at all," he observed. "Maybe you can entertain me for a while."

His eel like tongue licked his lips hungrily making Sakura shutter.

"_This guy is creepy! I hope Naruto is alright,_" thought the girl while searching for her missing comrade…

* * *

Naruto's back was throbbing painfully. It didn't help that he had been slammed into the base of a tree due to that bizarre gust of wind. How could a breeze that strong even exist in such a dense forest was beyond Naruto's understanding. His thoughts then wandered to his friends, who he didn't sense in the immediate area.

"_Guess I better search for them,_" thought Naruto warily.

Despise his protesting back, Naruto rocked back and forth like a beetle until he tipped to his side. From there, he tenderly climbed to his feet. Naruto was just testing his limbs to make sure nothing was broken when suddenly a large shadow overtook him.

"_Uh oh, this doesn't look good,_" realized the blond with an annoyed frown.

He whipped around in search of the shadow's owner. The unexpected sight made him grow pale. A giant brown snake was sitting in front of him with its' tongue tasting the air. It evil looking gold eyes glared at the tiny blond hungrily.

"It's huge!" exclaimed a flabbergasted Naruto. "_I've never seen a snake that big before! And judging by the way it's looking at me, I'm betting he's hungry_."

The jumbo sized serpent rose higher into the air, further blocking the sunlight from view. Naruto stared grimly into the beasts eyes while slowly gathering chakra into his legs. He already knew, that there would be no time to remove his weights before the beast struck but any bit of speed he could muster would help. The snake's tongue flicked in and out of its' mouth one last time, then its' head shot forward. Quickly, Naruto leaped aside on chakra fueled legs to safety as the reptiles battering ram like head smashed the spot he had be standing at earlier.

The beast's tail shot forward in an attempt to snare the blond. Quickly Naruto took to the trees with a high jump. The snake's snapping jaws then lunged towards Naruto, who deftly dropped to a lower tree branch. Naruto speedily leaped onto the beast's back with a kunai drawn. The blond begun to run along the beast's spine with the intent of attacking its' head, but the creature's whip like tail was already moving to dislodge its' prey from his temporary safe point.

"_Dammit! This must've been what Zabuza had to deal with when he fought with Elaine's Water Dragon!_" thought the blond with a grunt as he took to the air.

The beast's tail bashed it on its' own head, momentarily stunning it. Naruto took advantage of that moment to spawn two shadow clones. The blond nodded towards them and pointed towards the confused beast as it glared back and forth between the three Narutos. It hissed and opened its' jaws for another lunged. This time, the two clones intercepted the attack by allowing themselves to be eaten. But not before blinding it with a pair of twin kunai throws towards its' eyes. The last, and real, Naruto then grinned while putting as much distance between himself and the snake as possible while it was swallowing his clones. Once the blond was a good fifteen yards away, he turned back towards the beast and whispered one word.

"Boom."

The beast's head exploded into fragments of flesh and bone due to the clone's suicide bombing plan. Since his clones were created with the exact same number of supplies as the original itself, the result was a chain reaction of forty-two exploding tags going off within the beast's body. The headless snake slumped to the ground while Naruto celebrated his victory with a whooping cheer…

* * *

The tongue guy withdrew a scroll from his pocket, or more precisely the Earth scroll! Sasuke and Sakura gasped in surprise at both their good fortune and the fact that they had him outnumbered. The tongue guy laughed.

"I can see it in your eyes. You want my Earth scroll right?" he predicted. "Since you have the Heaven scroll…"

At that moment, the strangest sight that either Sasuke or Sakura had ever seen befell them. The tongue guy ate the Earth scroll as if it were a piece of candy! His slimy looking tongue wrapped around the burgundy scroll and he pushed the parchment down his throat. A giant lump slid down in a fashion reminiscent of an ostrich. He licked his lips once he was finished.

"Let's begin, the fight over our scrolls…" he glared at them with slit for eyes that weren't present before.

Sasuke and Sakura gasped in fright.

"By putting our lives on the line!" finished the tongue guy darkly.

Both Sasuke and Sakura begun to convulse violently…

* * *

"No one's here," said Hinata upon setting foot inside the tower.

Kiba chuckled.

"So we were the first ones eh?" mused the dog tamer out loud.

Shino frowned.

"No, I felt someone else's presence," replied the human bug nest.

Shino glanced pass his comrades to a nearby pillar. Genmaru was leaning against it with his arms folded. He was gazing at Hinata and the others with a smirk on his face. Domino stepped from behind him and gave the newcomers a cheery salute along with a teasing wink.

"Wrong! We were here first!" she said with a laugh.

"Genmaru-kun! Domino-san! You're here!" greeted Hinata with a shy smile.

It was a relief to see some familiar faces. Hinata's teammates felt the same way judging by Kiba's toothy grin and…well…it was hard to tell with Shino. The dog tamer begun rubbing his nose.

"Aw shucks! Looks like you guys beat us here this time. Don't think that we'll go easy on you because of it!" he taunted with his idea of a greeting.

"Hah! In your dreams, dog boy!" quipped Domino jokingly while making the 'you're stupid' face.

Everyone laughed including Kiba. Only Shino remained laughter free. Hinata then begun looking around.

"Um, where's Elaine-san?" asked the Hyuuga.

"Oh, she went ahead to see if anyone else was here. We just arrived about an hour ago," replied Domino.

"It's strange really, we haven't sensed anybody else here," added Genmaru. "You'd expect a welcoming committee or something."

"Hm, this is most troubling. Perhaps something happened to the examiners," suggested Shino.

"I doubt that, there wasn't any sign of a struggle anywhere," came Elaine's voice.

She entered the room from a side door that lead to a long hallway.

"Hey guys," she greeted Team Eight with a warm smile before turning towards her comrades. "From what I can tell, we're completely alone here. Every room was empty but there was this one room that had a bunch of sealed doors in it. I couldn't open any of them so I don't know what's pass that room."

The others all grew thoughtful after that. Were they too early, was the only thought that passed through their minds. Suddenly, Akamaru's trembling worsened, a sign that Gaara and company were near. The dog begun to whimper, even as Kiba worriedly tried to comfort him.

"Are you okay, Akamaru?" asked Kiba, even though he already knew the answer.

Akamaru whimpered a frightened response. Shino's eyebrows lowered into a frown.

"He's been shaking like that ever since that battle we witnessed," he observed.

"What happened?" asked Elaine curiously.

Kiba and Hinata recapped the situation to the others. The Dragon Genin grew a bit uneasy. Whoever this Gaara person was sounded really powerful. As if these thought were a cue, Kankuro's voice echoed outside of the tower.

"Finally, we made it!" groaned Kankuro.

"Let's just get this over with," came Gaara's voice.

There was the sound of someone muttering under their breath before the doors were yanked open. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro entered. They stared at the others in mild surprise before smirking at them. Gaara paused only to make eye contact with Genmaru, who was still leaning calmly against the pillar, before continuing on to the next room. His siblings silently followed.

"Not a very chatty bunch are they?" joked Domino once the Sands were out of earshot.

If this Gaara was really all that strong, then she certainly didn't want to provoke the guy yet. The others managed half hearted smiles but they remembered all to well the terror Gaara had placed upon them. Genmaru stared in the direction the sand had went with an almost intrigued smile on his face.

"_This is going to be more interesting than I expected_…" he mused…

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura slumped to the ground stunned. Both of them were trembling so badly that it would be possible for them to make chocolate milk if they had the will to hold the container. Sasuke had just enough sense to be able to look around with his eyes, but he was certain that he had gone insane.

"_That vision…and all the blood…we're still alive? Impossible I saw us die! Was it a Genjutsu?_" Sasuke's thoughts were jumbled but one thing was certain, he was most definitely alive.

Abruptly the Uchiha heaved onto the ground. After a few minutes of vomiting, during which the tongue guy patiently waited, it hit Sasuke like a sucker punch.

"_No…it was just an intent to kill. But it was so strong! I literally saw an image of my own death!_" thought Sasuke with fear filled eyes. "_Who is this guy?! He's way too strong!_"

The tongue guy merely stared at him. His cold eyes never seemed to blink as they probed Sasuke's. The Uchiha broke away from his gaze to check on Sakura. The pink haired girl was trembling even worse than Sasuke had been and her crying eyes seemed to be staring at something only she could see.

"_Damn it! We've out to get out of here, or we'll be killed for sure!_" realized Sasuke while reluctantly obeying his body's impulse to look at the tongue guy again.

A cruel smile was playing on his lips. His eyes remained baleful even as he laughed.

"What's this? You can't move already?" taunted the tongue guy while reaching into his pouch.

"_No! He's going to kill us! I have to move!_" Sasuke's mind screamed these thoughts over and over again but his body wouldn't budge.

The tongue now held two kunai by his side. Powered by sear force of will, Sasuke managed to draw a kunai of his own and rise to a crouch. The tongue guy smirked.

"And what are you going to do with that?" he taunted.

Sasuke grimaced and painstakingly slowly raised his knife into the air. The tongue guy begun to approach.

"Relax, it'll be over soon," he chided. "You won't even have time to suffer."

He hurled his knives at the duo.

"NO!" screamed Sasuke before stabbing himself in the leg with his own tool.

In a flash, Sasuke seized Sakura and took to the trees on chakra fueled legs. The tongue guy watched his progress with semi amusement…

* * *

"Yum! There's nothing better than dango and juice!" proclaimed Anko with a content sigh.

The petit woman had been enjoying her lunch break which mostly involved stuffing herself with sugar coated dumplings. She was just now finishing off her last stick of the pastries out of a twenty-six kit set.

"Okay, once I've finished up here I'll head towards the tower. By now, the quick candidates should be making their way there."

Anko downed the last dumpling and lazily hurled the stick at a nearby tree. She smiled upon seeing the stick, along with the other twenty-five, complete a familiar leaf symbol.

"Konoha mark, complete!" declared Anko with a pleased laugh.

At that moment, a large poof of smoke appeared in front of the purpled haired woman. Another geeky looking examiner emerged from the cloud and kneeled before her.

"Anko-sama, we have a problem!" said the examiner while getting directly to the point.

"What's wrong?" asked Anko warily.

"Three bodies have just been discovered! There's something strange about them!" replied the guy urgently.

"Strange?" echoed Anko.

The examiner nodded in confirmation.

"I've been ordered to inform you immediately!" he said.

Anko sighed.

"Lead the way then."

* * *

Anko and the examiner arrived at the scene of the crime less than ten minutes later. Two other examiners, who were already there nodded at her arrival. Anko's eyes became questioning upon seeing the corpses and blood splattered on the ground. Immediately, one of them opened up a file an read the content to Anko.

"These three were Grass ninjas who were suppose to be taking part in the Chuunin exam. Their bodies were found less than an hour ago. We've already taken the necessary protocols and it confirmed that these three were killed in combat. However, there was something odd about the bodies."

The examiner didn't need to finish the rest of the report. What was wrong was made crystal clear when Anko saw the victim's faces.

"Their faces are gone," breathed Anko darkly.

"Yeah," confirmed the examiner. "It's almost as though they were melted off. A forbidden Ninjutsu no doubt."

Almost unconsciously, Anko grasped a constantly throbbing scar of her past.

"_He was here. I'd recognize his technique anywhere. But why, why is he in this exam?_" thought Anko darkly.

A chilled breeze picked up, giving rise to Anko's feeling of dread. Quickly she turned towards the examiner holding the file.

"Show me the application pictures of these Grass ninjas!" she ordered.

Wordlessly, he produced the documents and handed them to Anko. She begun to study them with narrowed eyes. Of the three ugly looking pictures, one face stood out the most. It was a photo of the tongue freak from earlier that morning.

"_So this was the face you've taken,_" thought Anko grimly before handing the papers back to the file guy. "Report this to Hokage-sama! Also, send at least two ANBU teams into the Forest of Death! Tell them that 'he' has returned! I'm going ahead in pursuit of that man!" ordered Anko before vanishing in a gust of swirling leaves…

* * *

Sasuke stopped running some ten minutes later. Sakura, who had stayed mercifully quite during the great escape, seemed to be regaining her sense though she still continued to tremble. The Uchiha winced as he took that opportunity to free his kunai from his leg. His breathing was ragged as he tried to ignore the shooting pain, but he kept watch for that weird guy all the same.

"_Looks like the Genjutsu rule still applied. By hurting myself, the pain allowed me to regain my senses,_" mused the watchful Uchiha. "_All that's left to do now is hide out until we can regroup with Naruto_."

"Sasuke-kun…" whispered Sakura, drawing Sasuke's eye. "Are you alright? What's going to happen to…"

Sakura never got to finish that thought. The moment Sasuke felt that killer intent from before approaching them, he clamped a hand over her mouth. Sakura made some surprised and inaudible attempt at speech but to no avail. Sasuke ignored her and watchfully kept an eye out for their pursuit. All the while he was trying to figure out some way to run away.

"_Sasuke-kun looks so vulnerable right now. That guy…who is he?_" thought a worried Sakura.

A shadow suddenly passed over them and Sakura caught movement out the corner of her eyes. She warily peered towards it to find a giant snake that looked exactly like the one Naruto fought! Her eyes grew wide with fright and she attempted to catch Sasuke's attention. Sasuke continued to ignore her, oblivious to the danger they were in. Finally Sakura pried his hand from her mouth.

"Sasuke-kun! A snake!!"

This caught Sasuke's attention. The giant serpent lunged, but its' prey had already leaped out of harm's way in opposite directions. The beast decided to go after the much more appetizing looking Sasuke since he was still in midair. As the beast approached him, Sasuke swore he saw something of the tongue guy in its' glaring eyes. The Uchiha screamed.

"STAY AWAY!!" he wailed while hurling a swarm of shuriken at the reptile without taking proper aim.

Most of the projectiles missed, but a small amount struck a vital point along the side of the beast's upper body. The serpent hissed in pain before slumping over a tree branch, in complete paralysis. Sasuke touched down on a branch of his own while breathing heavily. Sasuke and Sakura's eyes grew wide once more when a line of cracks appeared along the beast's head. Then, like some bizarre butterfly awakening, a familiar figure rose out of the creature's skin. The tongue guy smirked at them before redirecting his gaze towards Sasuke. His freaky tongue begun to sway in a fashion very similar to the immobile snake itself.

"You shouldn't let your guard down for an instant when faced by a predator," murmured the tongue guy before he begun zigzagging around his tree branch like a slinky.

The human snake was fast approaching the Uchiha with rubber band like legs when he was abruptly cut off by a wave of shuriken landing in front of him. With an annoyed grunt, the snake guy along with the others looked towards the source. Standing atop the tallest tree in sight with his arms folded and a confident smile on his face, was Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto! You're here!" cried Sakura happily.

"Yo guys! About that password, what was it again?" joked the blond.

Sasuke mentally cursed.

"Naruto! I know you're here to help out but this guy is out of our league! We need to scarper quickly!" cried Sasuke desperately.

Naruto shrugged it off with a smirk. Needless to say, he wasn't going to turn tail and run from anyone. The snake guy sensed Naruto's confidences and spoke with an amused smile.

"It looks like you've managed to defeat that snake, Naruto-kun."

Naruto stared at him with a puzzled frown.

"_How does this guy know my name? I must finally be gaining a reputation!_" thought Naruto happily. "Hah, you look like a freaking snake! Were you its' mother or something?" he quipped.

The snake guy's eyes narrowed dangerously while Sasuke did another mental curse. This was going to be messy.

"Hey, what's with that look? You miss your baby?" teased Naruto before glaring at the snake guy with deadly seriousness. "I cannot forgive someone who preys on the weak, especially on my friends! Prepare yourself, I'm going to kick your ass now."

For the longest, nobody said or did anything. Then the snake guy smiled.

"_This is going to be fun,_" he thought.

"_Damn it! I don't like that look in his eyes. I have no choice then,_" thought Sasuke fearfully. "Wait a minute!" said Sasuke drawing everyone's attention.

The Uchiha then fished the Heaven scroll out of his pouch. He held it up in front of himself.

"Please, just take it and go," pleaded Sasuke quietly.

Naruto and Sakura gasped while the snake guy smiled more broadly.

"What the hell!? Sasuke! What do you think you're doing!?" demanded Naruto angrily.

"Shut up!" shot back Sasuke with a glare.

Naruto's face became livid but he remained silent.

"Very good, Sasuke-kun. You've made a wise decision," drawled the snake guy. "The only way to escape a predator, is to surrender another meal instead."

Sasuke didn't comment to this and opted instead to glare at the snake guy. Then wordlessly, he tossed the scroll towards him. The roll of parchment had only just left Sasuke's finger tips before being intercepted by an orange blur. Naruto then boosted off from a tree trunk back towards Sasuke.

"Damn you! Don't interfere! Can't you see that we're outmatched!?" cried Sasuke heatedly.

The Uchiha was silenced by a punch from Naruto that had enough force to not only knock him back several feet, but also draw a spray of blood and spit. The stunned Uchiha rubbed his swelling cheek before wiping his mouth clean.

"What the hell are you doing!?" demanded Sasuke with a wince.

Naruto glared at Sasuke for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again.

"I don't remember the damn password so I can't test this, but you're a fake Sasuke right!?" glowered Naruto darkly.

Sasuke and Sakura's mouths dropped open.

"What the hell!? I'm the real one, you moron!" shot back Sasuke.

"Liar!" contradicted Naruto. "There's no way that the cowardly bastard standing in front of me could be the Sasuke I know! I don't know how strong this freak is, but there's no guarantee that he'll let us go if we give him the scroll! Did you ever stop to think about that, huh!?"

Sasuke glared silently at the tree branch he was standing on. Naruto's words had hit home. At that moment, the snake guy laughed.

"You're absolutely right, Naruto-kun! I could just as easily kill you and take the scroll!" agreed the snake guy while licking his lips with his slimy tongue.

Sasuke and Sakura gasped, but Naruto was beginning to see red. Quickly the blond pocketed the scroll, withdrew a kunai from his pouch and rushed the snake guy.

"Don't mess with us!" he bellowed.

As Naruto was approaching, the snake guy quickly bit his thumb and smeared the resulting blood onto a tattoo on his forearm.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he cried.

Like before, that insanely strong gust of wind picked up. Sakura and Sasuke were instantly slammed into the trunk of their respective trees. Naruto however, was able to reduce some of the force pushing on him by anchoring himself in place with his knife. When the gust cleared, the snake guy was standing on top of another giant snake.

"_So that's how he's doing it!_" observed the blond.

The beast glared balefully at him before bringing its' head smashing down on the spot where Naruto had been standing. Naruto had long since took to the air by the time the serpent's head had touched down. The force of the creature's smash had still sent sharp shards of wood flying in every direction though. Naruto crossed his arms over his face to shield it from the flying wood chips while the others ducked as low as they could to avoid them. Naruto touched down a few feet away with some extra cuts added to his frame. The snake guy laughed.

"You're such cute prey. I'm going to enjoy this very much," teased the freak.

Like a bull whip, the serpent's tail shot forward to smash Naruto. The blond leaped to the side of the attack, but the massive tail sudden reversed direction in midswing. The startled blond went flying after feeling the full force of the sneak attack. He smashed into a tree trunk with a winded grunt. Naruto's sore back paralyzed the boy with pain.

"Naruto!" cried Sakura and Sasuke in unison.

The snake guy laughed again.

"Go ahead and eat him, my precious!" he ordered his familiar.

The beast was more than happy to oblige and lunged forward with wide jaws. Just when it seemed that dinner would be served, the blond suddenly vanished in a flash of insane speed! He reappeared a millisecond later directly in front of the startled beast and punched it in the snout with enough force to make it reel backwards. The snake guy was very nearly dislodged by his pet's sudden jerk. He stared at Naruto with startled eyes due to the sudden changes that were taking place.

Just as it did during the battle with Haku, Naruto's hair grew even more wild and spiky than before. His canine fangs elongated and grew sharper as did his finger and toe nails. His jacket became noticeably smaller as his muscle mass increased. Finally Naruto's eye color changed to a deep blood red. Although there was no aura present this time, the very air around the blond shimmered from the rapidly rising temperature of his body.

"_This kid…is that the demon fox's power?_" wondered the snake guy with dangerously narrowed eyes.

Naruto sudden vanished again, only to reappear beneath the surprised snake. With devastating force, the enraged blond pulled off a Rock Lee right into the beast's throat. It hissed soundlessly due to its' crushed windpipe and the dying creature's convulsing body caused the snake guy to lose his balance. He had just dropped to one knee when suddenly Naruto's arm wrapped around his throat. With a growl, Naruto pulled with all his might while using his foot as a boost to hurl the failing snake summoner into a tree with enough force to break it in half! Sakura and Sasuke gasped in shock.

"_No way! Why is Naruto so strong? He's moving so fast, I can't even see what's happening!_" thought Sakura fearfully.

Sasuke's mouth was hanging open as if he were incapable of speech. Fear was written all over his face.

"_Naruto…this power…it's not normal!_"

The blond touched down on all fours with a growl. The snake guy was falling in slow motion from Naruto's point of view. The amount of speed that Naruto was generating was off the chart, even though he still had his weights on! Impatient with waiting for his opponent to hit the ground, Naruto shot towards him like a bullet. In midair, Naruto kneed the bastard in the chin causing his head to snap back with a sickening crack.

Before the snake guy could fly off again, Naruto seized a fist full of his shirt and held him in place. The blond then reared back his head before slamming it into his foe's nose. The blond didn't even stop to admire the for coming spray of blood, he immediately followed up his head butt with an overhead flip that he performed a dozen times in a row. With his gathered momentum, Naruto dropped his heel onto the freak's shoulder which not only sent him plummeting to the ground but also dislocated the limb altogether.

Quickly, Naruto begun to run along the trunk of a tree right after him. Not even two seconds later, Naruto had caught up to the still falling body. The blond was just about to boost off for another brutal combo when suddenly, the snake guy dissolved into a mass of what looked like mud.

"Nani!?" cried Naruto in surprise.

The blond then sensed a presence directly behind him. Naruto glanced over his shoulder to find a jet of flame sailing towards him courtesy of the exhaling snake guy. As fast as Naruto was now, he still wouldn't be able to dodge this attack from point blank range with his back turned. The blond skidded to halt on the tree with his chakra and braced himself as a wave of heat overtook him. This only served to upset him even more. With a roar, Naruto canceled out the flames with a shockwave of chakra that knocked the snake guy back into the air as well. Naruto then rushed him again and scored a punch through a gust of wind and leaves. The bastard had teleported! Naruto growled in frustration while warily seeking out his opponent.

"This…this is Naruto!?" whispered Sasuke in shock.

The Uchiha had activated his Sharingan earlier during the fight but it was still hard to keep track of the exact number of times Naruto had hit the snake guy. Sakura may not have been able to follow the fight at all, but she could tell from Sasuke's eyes that some truly amazing action was taking place. So intent was Sasuke on watching Naruto, that he never sensed the snake guy approaching him from behind. Sakura was about to cry out a warning when…

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A fourth snake appeared and immediately lunged towards the astonished Uchiha. The beast prepared to eat him when in a flash, Naruto appeared and halted the beast's head using all the strength he had. The others gasped at the sight of the heavily breathing Naruto who's face was aimed at the ground. After a moment, Naruto looked up with a savage grin.

"Hey, are you alright, Scaredy-Cat? You're shaking," teased the blond.

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization. That was the same thing he had said to Naruto on the way to Water Country. Naruto's grin then turned into an intimidating glare due to his eyes.

"There's no way that a damn coward like you could ever be the Sasuke I know!" repeated Naruto quietly.

Sasuke couldn't muster up the will power to look away from his rival's eyes. For the first time ever, it was Sasuke who was looking up to Naruto. This fact was determined to engrave itself into Sasuke's memory permanently. The life left Sasuke's eyes after that moment and his shoulders slumped in defeat. His rival had beat him.

So caught up he was in deflating Sasuke's ego that Naruto never sensed the snake guy's long tongue sneaking up on him until it was too late. Like a bull at a rodeo, Naruto found himself bound and helpless. The snake guy's tongue effortlessly lifted Naruto up into the air to dangle in front of him. Naruto's legs failed helplessly as he tried to get a good grip on the tongue to free himself. But it was simply too slippery.

"Damn you! Let me go, you freak!" cried Naruto as he violently trashed about.

The snake guy ignored his insult and examined Naruto with his eyes. Sakura and Sasuke were rooted to the spot with fear so the snake guy ignored them as well. His searching eyes finally settled on Naruto's stomach. He raised his left hand with his fingertips extended.

"_So the Kyuubi kid is still alive. Judging by the nature of his sudden power increase, he must release some of the Nine Tail's chakra when his emotions are running high,_" observed the snake guy before using the tip of his tongue to lift up Naruto's jacket and T-shirt. "_Oh my, the seal is visible! Well then, the Five Element Seal technique will work quite nicely here._"

Directly on Naruto's stomach was a spiral shaped swirl with Japanese characters surrounding it. To any other person, it would have looked like Naruto had a tattoo job done on him. However, the snake guy knew better. Naruto grunted in disgust at the way he was being violated by this freak. The tongue guy smiled at the blond before frowning in concentration. Tiny purple flames begun gathering on his finger tips. He raised his flaming fingers into the air.

"_Gogyo Fuin!_" thought the snake guy due to his inability to speak properly with his tongue binding Naruto.

He then trusted his fingers painfully into Naruto's nerves that were surrounding the seal. The blond gasped in agony as a searing burning sensation resulted from the targeted nerves. Steam rose steadily from those points long after the snake guy had removed his hand. Five six shaped marks then appeared around the original seal. Naruto felt his strength slipping away rapidly like a tub full of water that had the plug removed. The physical changes reverted back to normal and Naruto's eyes glazed over. The last thing Naruto remembered before he passed out was the unbearable feel of weights on his arms and legs.

"Naruto!!" screamed Sakura in horror.

Sasuke's trembling worsened.

"_It's been twelve years since this boy had been sealed. By the looks of it, Naruto's and the Nine Tail's chakra were beginning to merge,_" hypothesized the snake guy before reaching into Naruto's pocket.

He withdrew the Heaven scroll like it was a spoil of war and returned his gaze back to the blond.

"_I hate to do this kid, but you're in my way now,_" he thought before lazily hurling the unconscious boy behind him.

No longer able to actively defend himself, Naruto was sailing for a thirty-eight foot drop back to ground level.

"No! Naruto!" cried Sakura before swiftly hurling a pair of kunai at him.

Both snagged his jacket and pinned him safely to a tree, where he dangled like a limp piñata. The two knifes together easily supported his weight. Sakura then glared at Sasuke angrily.

"What's the matter with you, Sasuke-kun!? He could've been killed!" cried Sakura.

The Uchiha met her blazing emerald eyes with trembling black ones before he stared sadly at the ground. This only served to piss off Sakura even more.

"Damn it, Sasuke-kun! Sure Naruto may get in the way sometimes but at least he's not a coward like you! Right!?" she screamed while hot tears streamed down her eyes.

Sakura hated herself for being mad a Sasuke. And she hated herself even more for not being able to truly help her comrades. The pressure of it all finally broke her dam of emotions and she begun sobbing uncontrollably. Sasuke closed his eyes in self loathing. The sound of Sakura's sobs felt like a kunai to the guts. He never ever wanted to be the one who made her cry, but it had happened. His mind then gave way to a saying that had been his driving force for many years.

'You're a fool. You have no place in this world, little brother. If you truly desire to kill me then hate me, detest me and survive in an unsightly way. As you are now, all you can do is run and run like the true coward you are.'

It was more than the Uchiha could stand.

"No more!" cried Sasuke while triggering his Sharingan. "I'm not going to run away any more!"

The snake guy smirked, and Sakura's crying ceased to being an occasional hiccup.

"_Interesting. Look's like his Uchiha blood is beginning to boil,_" observed the snake guy. "_I'll have some fun with this one and test his abilities_."

Sasuke shank into a light battle pose and allowed his aura of light blue chakra fuel his body. His bangs begun to float into the air as a ring of dust circled his feet. He glared determinedly at the snake summoner, who shrugged it off without a care. The snake he was riding on begun to glow brightly before vanishing in a poof of smoke. When it cleared, the snake guy stood calmly in front of Sasuke in a combat pose of his own…

* * *

Anko came to a halt after over a half an hour of searching. She sighed, there were just too many killer intents in this forest to know which one was the person she was looking for. She turned to watch the setting sun for a moment.

"_This isn't good! If I don't find him soon, I'll be at a disadvantage during the hours of the night,_" mused Anko solemnly. "_There has to be a reason why he came back. I just wish that I knew what it was, not that it'll matter either way. The moment I see him, I'll settle things between us once and for all_."

With that vow in mind, Anko took off in the direction of the strongest killer intent she could sense…

* * *

With a flick of his wrist, a kunai fell from Sasuke's arm guards into each of his waiting hands. The snake guy smirked before forming a seal. A shockwave launched towards the stationary Uchiha, who immediately took to the air. Sasuke twisted his body in midair and hurled the kunai waves at his adversary. The snake guy avoided them with simple bobs and weaves of his head. By the time the last projectile had harmlessly passed, Sasuke was able to boost off of a tree branch towards the snake freak.

Sasuke attacked with a double stomp which was blocked by the snake guy's forearm. Sasuke boosted off of his arm after the second kick to perform a somersault over the guy's head. The snake guy quickly tried to catch Sasuke in mid-flip with a roundhouse kick but it had been poorly timed. Sasuke completed his aerobics with no resistances but performed an extra back flip after touching down just to put some distance between them. The snake guy charged at the same time that Sasuke did. Once in range, they begun a furious melee of Taijutsu combat.

Sasuke started things off with a dolphin blow, which was blocked by the snake guy's forearm. Sasuke went into a shaoling spin back to the ground and quickly lashed out with his foot to halt the snake guy's soccer kick. Sasuke stepped on the guy's foot to pin it to the ground. Immediately afterwards Sasuke caught the snake guy's incoming fist in his palm. They separated their hands and brutally smashed their forearms together. Sasuke freed the snake guy's foot to pull off a rotating kick. Quickly the snake guy hopped back to avoid the blow before retaliating with a five hit combination that was easily blocked and avoided by Sasuke. The snake guy finished his combo with an axe kick followed immediately by a spin kick. Sasuke dodged them and once more Sasuke attempted a surprise roundhouse kick that the snake guy jumped over.

The minute the snake guy landed, he vanished in a blur of high speed. Sasuke smirked as he easily was able to follow his movement with his eyes.

"_Compared to Naruto, you may as well be jogging instead of running,_" thought Sasuke.

Sasuke easily avoided the snake guy's pile driver attack with a high jump, backwards. He made a several seals in midair.

"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!"

The minute Sasuke landed, he fired a stream of fireballs until the snake guy was no longer visible beyond the wall of flames. He then followed up the attack with his signature move.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A massive jet of flame united with the flame wall resulting in a raging inferno. The funnel of twenty feet high flames faded away thirty seconds later. Sasuke tensed in anticipation of another attack. Sure enough, one was headed his way in the form of a human mole. Sasuke quickly leaped back just as the snake guy popped out of the tree branch for a strike. With seven paces in-between them, the battling warriors stared each other down in a classic stand off.

"_Feh, this kid isn't bad at all. He not only predicted my movement and acted accordingly, but he even managed to evade my attacks in the process. He's eyes must've grown used to high speed movement after watching my fight with that blond kid,_" observed the snake guy.

Sasuke stiffened when the snake guy rose to his full height.

"_Okay, what is he planning now?_" pondered Sasuke while coiling his leg.

The snake guy raised both of his hands over his head before smashing them down with a cry. A shockwave rocketed towards Sasuke who quickly took to the branches above. He boosted off from it and seized hold of the snake guy's legs and waist. The angle that Sasuke had took hold of him resulted in the snake guy losing his balance and falling head first towards the ground.

"This one is for Naruto!" cried Sasuke as they freefell to the ground via a copy of Naruto's power bomb technique.

The snake guy screamed the whole way down and landed with a sickening crunch on his noggin. A spider web of cracks appeared in the boulder that Sasuke had used as a bull's eye. Fortunately, Sasuke had enough control over the move to avoid inflicting self injury in the process. The Uchiha released his legs and hopped back a safe distance away. The snake guy never moved and his eyes had rolled into the back of his sockets leaving only white. His arms slumped lifelessly to the ground and his legs dangled at odd angles.

"Did Sasuke-kun win?" wondered Sakura hopefully with the Uchiha's exact thoughts.

The snake guy's body begun to violently twitch. Sasuke stared on in shock as his foe's body turned into muck again.

"Another Bunshin!?" exclaimed Sasuke.

The words had no sooner left his mouth when a lone kunai scored a cut on his cheek. Instinctively, Sasuke flipped aside to avoid the follow up wave of the flying knifes. This continued until Sasuke's back was pressed against a tree. Quickly he leaped up into it. Sasuke had just touched down on one of it's branches when a heavy punch from the snake guy nailed him in the face. With a grunt he staggered back and blindly put up a guard with starry vision.

Sasuke felt an elbow collide with his cheek bone and another brutal punch ram into his stomach. As Sasuke was doubling over from the strikes, the snake guy's knee rammed into his already smarting face. His head snapped back up only to receive another punch in the face. Sasuke fell on his butt with a winch.

"Hmp, you're beginning to bore me," taunted the snake guy. "Maybe a kid like you isn't ready to live up to the name, Uchiha just yet. But don't worry about it, I was going to kill you anyway."

The snake guy raised his leg for an axe kick.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he quickly raised his fingers. The snake guy's rear then suffered from several explosions due to the exploding tags that Sasuke had planted when he was doubled over. With a pained cry, the snake guy dropped to one knee. Sasuke then leaped into the air and withdrew several grapple like objects with thin thread attached to them. He hurled them around the snake guy while hanging onto the threads. The moment Sasuke touched down, he redirected the projectiles path with carefully controlled jerks on the wires.

"What!?" was all the snake guy had time to say before he found himself being bound to the base of the tree he was standing on.

The snake guy grimaced in discomfort. The wire's were cutting off his circulations. Sasuke then begun forming hand seals that Sakura had never seen him use before. The seals of a new technique!

"Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!" cried Sasuke.

Everyone marveled at the sight of Sasuke's chakra engulfing him. It then changed to that of a serpent made out of flames. The beast glared at the snake guy before enveloping the grapple's threads. Multiple jets of flame rocketed towards the helpless freak to consume him in a raging inferno of flames. He cried out in pure agony. A minute later, he slumped over unconscious.

"Yay Sasuke-kun! You did it!" cheered Sakura happily. "_That Dragon Fire technique is amazingly powerful!_"

The flames continued to burn and there was little doubt that the snake guy would become ash shortly. Sasuke grasped his knees in exhaustion while breathing heavily. Sakura leaped down from her safe point and ran to Sasuke's side shortly after that.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly once in range. "I think you used up all of your chakra."

Sasuke was too tired to respond, but he did manage a slight nod for Sakura's sake. Both of them gasped when suddenly a large aura of chakra erupted from the snake guy. The energy wall blew the flames out like a candle on a cake. Slowly the snake guy freed himself from the weakened grapple threads due to the burns it suffered.

"No way!" murmured Sakura.

The snake guy smashed his fist into his palm.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" he cried.

Just like that, Sakura and Sasuke felt their bodies go rigid as if an enormous weight had been placed on their shoulders. They both sank to their hands and knees from the strain.

"_Damn it! This is a Temporary Paralysis technique! We're trapped!_" despaired Sasuke.

Slowly, he buoyed his head to glare hatefully at the crafty snake summoner. The first thing the Uchiha noticed, was that his face had burned away partially like a rubber mask. The small bit of skin that Sasuke could see now, was as pale as the moon itself. A small amount of purple face paint was also visible beneath his glaring snake like eye.

"I'm impressed with how well you can use your Sharingan at your age," praised the snake guy in a much hoarser sounding voice, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. "You truly are Itachi's brother. I think I want you after all. From what I saw, you carry even more potential than Itachi." his hand passed over his forehead protector, replacing the Grass village's symbol for the Sound village's symbol.

"Who the hell are you!? How do you know my brother!?" demanded Sasuke heatedly.

The snake guy smirked and produced the Heaven scroll in his right palm.

"My name is Orochimaru. If you wish to see me again, then get through this exam as if your life depended on it," as he said this, the scroll begun to combust in a eerie green flame.

"No! The scroll!" wailed Sakura.

But the two warriors were too focused on each other to pay Sakura any attention.

"If you desire power like no other, you must first defeat my three subordinates who are taking part in this exam. Do this for me Sasuke-kun and I shall show you true power," stated Orochimaru calmly.

"You…what nonsense are you babbling on about?! We never want to see your face again!" screamed Sakura desperately after seeing Sasuke's almost intruded expression.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"It won't work out that way, little girl," he formed a prayer seal with his index and middle fingers crossed.

As quick as lightening, Orochimaru's neck elongated to unbelievable lengths. His head then launched towards Sasuke with almost vampire like fangs extending as well. Sasuke gasped when he felt Orochimaru bite him on his lower neck.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura in distress.

For a few seconds, the kunoichi was forced to listen to what sounded like Orochimaru greedily sucking on the Uchiha's neck. Then he ceased the bite and recalled his head like a fishing line. With his neck back at normal length, Orochimaru licked his lips clean as if he had eaten a delightful piece of chocolate. Sasuke cried out and agony and Sakura could only look on in horror as a trio of sixes appeared on his neck like a Satanist tattoo.

"Sasuke-kun…what the hell did you do to him!?" shrieked Sakura at Orochimaru's smug face.

Orochimaru made the common one handed prayer seal.

"I just gave him a farewell present. Sasuke-kun will not forget, in time he will seek me for power," stated Orochimaru tersely before shifting his gaze back to Sasuke. "I enjoyed seeing your moves, Sasuke-kun. Learn some more tricks for me until our next meeting," he chuckled and phased into the very tree itself with a sinister smile on his face the whole time.

Sakura was left all alone with Sasuke's pain filled cries. With Orochimaru gone, the paralysis technique ceased as well. In a flash, Sakura was by Sasuke's side with a comforting hand on his back.

"Sasuke-kun! What's wrong, Sasuke-kun? Please, pull yourself together!" begged Sakura with tear filled eyes.

Sasuke then did the strangest thing possible. He embraced Sakura's waist as if seeking further comfort from the kunoichi. He's cries grew even more pained after this. Sakura cradled his head next to her bosom while pleading for the Uchiha to get better. From what she could feel, Sasuke was suffering from a high fever.

Soon Sasuke's consciousness left him, leaving behind a emotional and frightened Sakura.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun is…he…" wailed Sakura.

Naruto didn't stir either. For the first time ever, Sakura was truly alone…

* * *

Anko lightly touched down upon a wide tree branch with the silent grace of a cat. With a grim glare of determination, she approached the murderous intent before her. In the shadows of the night, a pair of glowing green eyes peered back at her. The cloud that was blocking the moonlight finally parted, allowing its' illuminating glow to light up the area. Orochimaru smiled from his integrated perched within the tree that he was recovering in.

"It's been a long time, Anko," greeted Orochimaru calmly.

Anko got straight to the point.

"You are a dangerous S class criminal. As a representative of Konoha, I'm going to kill you. Even if it costs me my life," vowed Anko darkly. "Also, this is a bit of a personal score. Long ago, you would've wanted me to stop someone like you right…Sensei?"

Several Senbon fell from her sleeve in-between her waiting fingers. Orochimaru sighed tiredly.

"You can't," he stated simply.

Anko rearing back her Senbon arm said otherwise. Quickly, Orochimaru's freaky tongue shot out like a bullet. Anko took to the air and performed a back flip onto the trunk of the tree behind her. Orochimaru's tongue followed after her as quick as lightning. It wrapped tightly around her wrist causing her to lose her grip on her needles due to the pain. Orochimaru's tongue then yanked her away from the tree. Anko deftly performed a series of aerobics and landed easily on her feet.

"Damn you! Ninpou, Sen'eijashu no Jutsu!" cried Anko.

A quartet of snakes wound themselves around Anko's arm from her sleeves. They then extended themselves just like Orochimaru could and charged towards said person. The snakes seized hold of Orochimaru and yanked him violently from the tree he was fused with.

"Die, Orochimaru!" cried Anko before having her snakes slam him into the tree behind her.

With Orochimaru stunned, Anko used this opportunity to recall her snakes back into her sleeve. She then withdrew a kunai from her pouch and seized hold of Orochimaru's hand. After slamming it into the tree as well, Anko pinned both his hand and her own to it with her knife. Despise the pain and bleeding, Anko still managed a grin.

"You're mine now!" cried Anko before taking hold of Orochimaru's other hand. "Hope you don't mine if I borrow your left hand!"

Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock at the seal Anko formed with their interlocked hands.

"_First the Hidden Shadow Snake Hand and now this!?_" realized the snake master.

"That's right! You and I are going to die together," confirmed Anko smugly before steeling her resolves. "Ninpou, Sojasosai no…" she began.

"What's this, committing suicide, Anko?" asked a familiar voice behind her.

Anko's head whipped around with wide eyes. There stood Orochimaru with a smirk oh his face. His pasty pale skin seemed to glow in the bright light of the moon.

"Y-you…" stammered Anko.

"That's right, that there is just a replication," teased Orochimaru.

Anko looked back towards the Orochimaru she had pinned to see it melt into a puddle of muck. Anko's gaze lowered to the ground as she slowly freed her aching hand in defeat. Orochimaru laughed at the sight.

"How pathetic, you're one of Konoha's special Jounins yet you're still using those forbidden Jutsu I taught you. Attempting the Duel Snake Destroyer is especially bad isn't it? You're bringing shame to your precious Konoha!" taunted Orochimaru while slowly approaching Anko.

"Shut up!" cried Anko before hurling her blood soaked kunai at him.

Orochimaru barely batted an eye when he caught the knife between his index and middle fingers.

"I told you it useless," reminded the snake master. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!"

Just like Sasuke and Sakura, Anko sank to her knees as if under an enormous burden. Unable to move, Orochimaru kneeled in front of her to gaze almost fondly into Anko's eyes.

"Wh-why are you here!?" demanded Anko.

"Tsk, it's been so long since we last seen each other but you're acting so coldly," mocked Orochimaru while pretending to have a hurt look on his face.

"Bastard! Don't mess with me! You've come to assassinate Hokage-sama haven't you?!" cried Anko angrily.

"Not quite. I don't have enough men to do that yet," replied Orochimaru. "As for you're earlier question, I'm seeking out some outstanding talent from the village."

Orochimaru's eyes glowed with malice and Anko winced while grasping her neck again. Orochimaru smiled in recognition.

"I just gave another boy that same seal as well. His exceptional talent has caught my eye," hinted Orochimaru in a tone that was unmistakably that of a braggart.

"Selfish bastard! Do what you want, but that kid is going to die!" growled Anko.

"You're right, his chance of survival is only one in ten," agreed Orochimaru. "But just like you, he may survive."

Anko suddenly grinned.

"Heh, you must really like this kid," she said.

Anko's eyes widened in shock when Orochimaru unexpectedly caressed her cheek.

"What, what, do I detect jealousy?" teased Orochimaru. "Don't tell me you're still upset that I used you and threw you away like trash."

Anko glared dangerously at him causing him to grin.

"Unlike you, this one is quite skilled. It's not surprising since he carries the Uchiha bloodline abilities," said Orochimaru before removing his hand from her cheek. "He's also very beautiful. He'll make a perfect vessel to be my successor."

Orochimaru then rose to his full height.

"If that boy survives, things will become pretty interesting. Please don't stop the exam prematurely, you wouldn't want to be held responsible for the elimination of innocent lives just for spoiling my fun would you?" threatened Orochimaru before vanishing in a burst of purple flames.

Anko was left alone, to mull things over…

* * *

The soothing sound of the running river was pure heaven to the relaxing members of Team Gai. Tenten was quietly sipping some chilled ginger tea from her bamboo canteen. Lee was quietly meditating about Gai-sensei's teachings of the fires of youth. Lastly, Neji was keeping a watchful eye out for attackers. Sensing none in the area, the Hyuuga spoke.

"We've managed to secure plenty of food and water in the first twelve hours. By now, the other teams should be resting," pointed out Neji. "Let's use this time to our advantage, as planned. We'll split up and scout out for enemies but, whether you find a camp or not…"

Neji rose to his full height and withdrew a kunai from his pouch. He then tossed it into the ground.

"We regroup here at dawn," he finished.

"Okay," said Tenten reluctantly. "_Shoot, just when I was thinking of taking a nap_."

Lee responded with a good deal more subservience.

"Roger!" he cried with a salute.

"Okay," Neji raised an arm into the air. "Break!"

In three flashes of movement, the trio took to the trees in opposite directions…

* * *

By this time, Anko had just finished dressing and applying bandage wrappings to her self inflicted injury. Her hand still throbbed painfully and it was more than likely that it would leave a scar. She sighed and stared at the ground without any emotion present on her face. After a few minutes, Anko stood up from the rock she was sitting on.

"I need to inform Hokage-sama about this right away," she murmured to herself.

Anko had taken no more than three steps in the direction of Sarutobi's place when she froze. A hungry feeling killer intent had invaded her senses. Anko warily peered into the darkness of the forest in search of the source. Three gleaming pairs of eyes glared right back at her. There then came the unmistakable sound of an animal's growl.

"God! Could they have came at any other time!?" groaned Anko.

The gleaming eyes owners stepped into the moonlight. They were Konoha's prized man eating tigers, a western jungle cat that had just recently begun to settle in Fire Country. Three of them had been captured and released in the Forest of Death just for the Chuunin exam. They surrounded Anko, whose back was pressed against the rock she had been sitting on. Apparently, they had been attracted by the scent of blood from Anko's wound.

Anko was just preparing to spring over the flesh craving beasts when her cursed seal begun throbbing painfully again. Her hand shot to the mark out of habit as it drained her body's strength. Anko sank to her knees in pain. One of the big cats prepared to pounce…

"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" cried an alluring voice unexpectedly.

The three tigers yowled in outrage as their bodies were burdened by the effect of the paralysis technique. Anko weakly sought out the person responsible for rescuing her. Out of thin air it seemed, Sagitario and two ANBU squad members appeared in front of her.

"Hey Anko-san, we've been looking for you," greeted Sagitario with a dazzling smile.

One hand was in his pant's pocket and he coolly twirled a rose in his visible right hand. The ANBU guys stood silently behind him. Unlike Sagitario, the ANBU were dressed in black pants and black sleeveless T-shirts that were covered completely by a gray padded vest. They each had black arm guards with bracers attached to them as well as simple looking Katanas strapped to their backs. Their faces were completely hidden by a monkey and a bird mask respectively.

"You guys are late," scolded Anko with a frown.

"Now now, don't be like that, Anko-san. It wasn't easy finding you in here you know," teased Sagitario. "I can't sense you based on beauty and your lovely face alone."

The ANBU guy's snickered a bit when Anko sputtered indignantly with a crimson face. They gave an alarmed start when Anko sank to her knees in pain again.

"Anko-sama! Are you alright?" cried one of the ANBU.

The other ANBU did a double take.

"That's…the cursed seal! It's visible!" he cried.

"Orochimaru-san. He was here yes?" asked Sagitario with a slight smile.

He and Orochimaru went way back, and not in a good way either. Anko gave a pained nod.

"What? Is it true? We must report this to Hokage-sama!" cried the first ANBU.

Anko weakly raised her head.

"N-no! Go to the tower!" ordered Anko.

"Anko-sama! What are you saying!?" protested the second ANBU. "You know that if Orochimaru is ever seen here, a maximum security protocol is to be enforced. This is no time for a ninja exam!" he scolded.

"I know that but…" begun Anko sadly.

"Hey, hey, hey don't yell so much. Can't you see that she's in a lot of pain right now?" cut in Sagitario while approaching Anko. "I will personally escort her to Hokage-sama's place. Can I ask you guys to go ahead of us and fill him in?" requested Sagitario with a smile.

The ANBU knew that smile all too well. It more or less told them to take a hike or suffer the consequences.

"Yes sir!" consigned the ANBU a little too quickly before vanishing in twin gusts of wind and leaves.

Now that they were alone, Sagitario smiled warmly at Anko while offering her his hand.

"Come on Anko-san, we'll go slowly."

Anko glared at him for the longest causing Sagitario to sweat drop. Finally, Anko stood up on her own and strode briskly pass him with her eyes closed.

"I can walk by myself!" she declared.

"Oh, right. Of course you can, but I'll feel better if I can hold your hand, Anko-san," flirted Sagitario.

Anko glared suspiciously at him.

"None of your perverted tricks?" she questioned.

"I cross my loved filled heart," replied Sagitario with both a smile and a sweat drop.

Anko sighed and reluctantly held out her hand. The green haired Jounin tucked his rose neatly into Anko's hair before smoothly locking arms with her. Together they started walking. Sagitario's eyes never left Anko's, who determinedly stared straight ahead. She hoped that he couldn't see her flushed cheeks in the darkness…

* * *

Sakura changed Sasuke's cloth for the third time since the fight with Orochimaru. She soaked another strip of cloth with water from her canteen and pressed it gently to Sasuke's forehead. With a sigh, she checked on Naruto for the twenty-fifth time. The blond still hadn't stirred. Naruto had given Sakura quite a scare when she gotten him down from the tree only to find out that he was barely breathing. Whatever Orochimaru had did to him, had nearly drove the blond to the point of death.

Sakura glanced around the temporary shelter that she had found. Honestly it was amazing that she was able to find a nearly uprooted tree. The opening between the unplanted roots was as good to hide in as a cave. The hard part had been getting her comrades into it. Naruto was especially difficult to drag in due to his ridiculously heavy weights. It took a lot of huffing and puffing and more than a fair share of cursing but she had pulled it off in the end. After that, Sakura pretty much spent the whole night keeping watch over them and setting up clever booby traps to fend off attackers.

Her efforts had kept them all safe, but now she was beginning to nod off. Unable to fight off the lure of sleep any further, Sakura closed her eyes…

* * *

Neji came to a stop after over an hour of scouting. He glared in annoyance at some nearby scrubs.

"Stop hiding and come out," he ordered.

A little over twenty seconds later, Team Ten emerged from the foliage.

"Oh my! I never thought I'd get to meet last year's number one rookie, Hyuuga Neji-sama!" cried Ino in nervous politeness.

"Can I have your autograph?" added Chouji while getting in on the act.

Shikamaru simply frowned at his cowardly friends, not that he wanted to fight either. Ino then let her hair down, tripling her natural cuteness. She winked seductively at Neji.

"I've always wanted to catch your eye!" she moaned in an Oscar level performance.

Neji barely even looked at her.

"Get lost," he said while walking away.

A vein throbbed in Ino's temple.

"_Damn you! Why doesn't my sexiness work!?_" thought Ino angrily while brandishing a fist at Neji's back.

The Hyuuga paused in mid-stride.

"Since you're shaking your fist at me, does that mean that you want to fight?" asked Neji without turning around.

That adjusted Ino's attitude mighty fast.

"N-no!" she said with a sweat drop.

"Then get lost!" snapped Neji with a glare over his shoulder. "Taking a scroll from cowards like you would make me the laughingstock of the village."

"Yes sir, Neji-sama!" squealed Ino a little too quickly.

She and her comrades took cover under the scrubs again like a trio of kicked dogs. Neji tsked.

"Damn cockroaches. Not even worth my time," grumbled Neji before walking calmly away…

* * *

Sakura awoke with a start. Her body was drenched in cold sweat and her eyes were filled with terror. In a heartbeat, Sakura spun around to check on Naruto and Sasuke. Both were mercifully unharmed. Sakura begun to tremble.

"_It was just a dream, but Naruto and Sasuke-kun had gotten attacked by that Orochimaru person. I couldn't warn them or even move, it was terrible,_" thought Sakura sadly. "I hope we never see that man again!" she cried out loud to herself just to hear any sound in the eerie silence.

It seemed to help, and Sakura immediately felt better. She wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. Sakura was just thinking of changing Sasuke's cloth again when she heard rustling behind her. She stiffened in fright and with shaky hands, withdrew a kunai from her pouch.

"_Please don't be him! Please don't be him!_" she echoed over and over again in her head while fearfully glancing behind her.

Naturally, she almost fell over at the sight of an adorable squirrel nibbling on an acorn. The furry rodent consumed the treat and took notice of Sakura for the first time. Since Konoha squirrels were pretty tame in this parts due to the kindness of the villagers, the rodent bounded towards Sakura thinking that she would give it some food. Its' eyes grew as wide as saucers when Sakura instead threw a kunai at it instead. The confused and frightened beast took off in the opposite direction.

"_Sorry little guy, but it was for your own good,_" thought Sakura with a relieved sigh.

The last thing she needed was the death of a rodent on her conscience due to her concealed trap going off. Little did Sakura know, she had saved more than one life with her actions…

* * *

Lee landed with a heavy thud on top of a tree branch. A faint rustling caught his attention. He lowered his eyes to take in the number of leaves that had been dislodged from his perch. A glint shone in the corner of his eyes and he smiled. It was time to play a little game!

"_Lets see, if I can catch all twenty of these leaves before they touch the ground then Sakura-chan will begin to like me! But if I miss even one, it will always remain an unrequited love. That and she'll call me Fuzzy Brows for the rest of my life,_" thought Lee with a waterfall of tears.

His tears were quickly replaced by the fires of youth!

"Here I go!" he cried before leaping out of the tree like a dive bomber.

His hands were blurs as he snagged leaf after leaf out of the air. He made it as far as nineteen before he had to slow his fall a bit with some quick boost offs from tree to tree. He landed on a thick tree branch to seek out the last leaf. Much like a hawk trying to eyeball a retreating mouse. Taking a deep breath, he leaped. Lee had nearly caught the last leaf when he noticed a faint light out the corner of his eye.

"Is that…"

Acting on instinct alone, Lee abandoned the leaf and rebounded towards the light source. He seized it and triumphantly held the same squirrel from before into the air. In his other hand, was a burning piece of paper that had been stuck to the rodent's back.

"Phew, made it," breathed Lee with a smile before crushing the burning slip into powder. "You almost got blown up by an exploding tag, little buddy. I wonder who would do something so cruel?"

The squirrel couldn't exactly talk, but it understood Lee well enough. It freed itself from Lee's grasp and bounded off in the direct he had came from. It stopped and stared at Lee as if to say "are you coming?" Curiously, Lee followed the rodent. The last leaf remained forgotten…

* * *

Sakura's eyelids once again begun to droop. Her exhausted body screamed for sleep, but Sakura refused to yield to the temptation. A familiar laugh drew her half sleeping brain from the void.

"Keeping watch all night?"

Sakura turned around to find the three Sound ninjas from earlier.

"You don't need to continue now," continued the mummy faced Sound. "Wake up, Sasuke-kun. We want to fight him."

Sakura tiredly stood up and glared at the Sound trio.

"What do you need to fight him for!? Isn't that Orochimaru guy your leader?" demanded Sakura much to the amazement of the Sounds. "What is this mark that he put on Sasuke-kun!?"

The mummy faced Sound grew thoughtful.

"What could that man be thinking?" he pondered out loud.

"Regardless, after hearing you say that, we can't let you live now!" declared the tan shirted Sound. "I'll fix all of you myself!"

Sakura tensed in anticipation with a kunai in hand. The tan wearing Sound was just about to approach when mummy face spoke.

"Hold on, Zaku," he ordered.

The Sound named Zaku frowned.

"What for, Dosu?"

Instead of answering him, the mummy Sound, Dosu kneeled to the ground.

"You're not very good at setting traps, little girl. The grass in this spot isn't growing, plus the turned over dirt is a different color."

Sakura growled as he lifted up the grass colored veil to reveal a pressure pad.

"There's no point in setting a trap if you make it so obvious," he continued causing his comrades to grin. "Kill her."

All three Sounds leaped towards her. Oddly enough, Sakura smirked in the wake of their attack. Wordlessly, the kunoichi cut through an nearly invisible thread of wire. A giant log then swung towards the startled Sounds. Just before the spike covered wood could hit, Dosu shattered it to fragments with a simple punch from his metal arm. Sakura gasped.

"Frankly, your skills are terrible!" taunted the mummy head. "You should work harder in the next life!"

The Sounds were almost in range of the teary eyed Sakura when…

"Konoha Senpuu!" cried another familiar voice.

The Sounds were then knocked aside by a spinning green blur. The blur vanished and reappeared protectively in front of Sakura in a flash of super speed. Lee raised his arms in the 'you have the initiative pose.'

"In that case, you guys should work harder as well!" Lee declared with a smile.

The squirrel from before was riding on his shoulder. It squeaked as if agreeing with the spandex wearing fighter.

"You're…why are you here?" begun Sakura.

"All in good time, Sakura-chan. But I will say this, I'll always appear when you're in a pinch!" replied Lee while stroking the squirrel calmly.

"Who the hell are you!?" demanded the Dosu.

"Me? I'm the beautiful green beast of the Hidden Leaf Village! Rock Lee!" he announced before setting the squirrel down. "Thank you for guiding me here friend, now go."

The squirrel glanced at Lee once more before taking off into the forest.

"Lee-san, aren't I your enemy too?" asked Sakura.

Lee stood back up and faced the Sounds.

"I said it once before. I'll protect you until the day I die," reminded Lee.

Sakura lowered her gaze to the ground.

"Thank you, Lee-san," she murmured.

Lee stuck his arm out and flashed Sakura the nice guy pose without turning around. Dosu sighed and produced an Earth scroll from his sleeve. He tossed it to Zaku, who pocketed it.

"Oh well. Zaku, you can have Sasuke-kun, I'll take care of these guys," said Dosu quietly. "_The spandex guy seems skilled in Taijutsu. This should be fun_."

Lee tensed as Dosu rushed him. Sakura attempted to slow Dosu's charge by hurling a kunai at him, but he leaped over it. It was Lee who canceled his attack altogether by smashing his entire arm into the ground. With a mighty yank, Lee uprooted one of the tree shelter's massive roots! The mummy guy boosted off of it to safety.

"There's a trick to your attacks right? After seeing you use it once on Kabuto-san, I won't give you the chance to pull it on me!" declared Lee.

The Sounds smirked while Sakura look on in awe.

"_Lee-san is so strong!_" thought the kunoichi.

Lee quickly assessed the situation.

"_From what I can tell, Sakura-chan is in no condition to fight. But with three against one, I'm at a disadvantage. There's no choice then, I'll have to destroy each of them at full power!_"

With that in mind, Lee slowly unraveled his bandage wrappings. The Sounds watched this with impatient expressions, but Sakura's eyes widened in recognition.

"_Gai-sensei! I now have no regrets about using this technique. Just as I promised, I will use this move to_…Protect a precious person!" Lee voiced his last thought.

Seeing that he was ready, Dosu charged again. He had just got in range for an attack when Lee vanished in a flash of high speed. Dosu blinked once before Lee reappeared and scored a brutal kick to his chin. Dosu was launched several feet into the air only to give a start upon hearing Lee's voice directly behind him.

"This is just the beginning!" he cried. "Omote Renge!"

Lee's wrappings then snaked their way about Dosu's body binding him completely. Dosu grunted in discomfort at the tightness of the constriction. It didn't help his nerves when Lee went into a dizzying spin. Everyone gave a start.

"Crap! He can't protect himself like that!" realized Zaku in alarm.

He quickly flashed through some hand seals and smashed his hands into the dirt. Seconds after that, Lee smashed Dosu into the ground hard enough to kick up a huge cloud of dust. Lee leaped aside, but there was something wrong judging by the frown on his face.

"Heh, looks like I made it on time!" said Zaku with a sneer.

Everyone looked towards the mummy guy to find his head comically buried under a cushion of dirt. With a kick of his leg, Dosu freed it with a soft plop. He shook his head while groaning.

"Impossible!" cried Sakura and Lee in unison.

"Ugh, that hurt a lot! Even on a sponge of dirt," grumbled Dosu before glaring at Lee. "I hope you're prepared, punk! I'm going to pay you back for that."

He charged at Lee, who was breathing pretty hard. Lee quickly avoided Dosu's punch, but dropped painfully to his knees just like Kabuto did. The spandex wearing fighter's vision swam with blurry images of the others. He then vomited with a loud retching sound. It only got worse when his left eardrum ruptured. Blood started oozing from said ear.

"Lee-san!" cried Sakura worriedly.

Lee cradled his damaged ear in stunned silence.

"Your pretty fast, but you can't outrun the speed of sound!" bragged Dosu with malicious eyes. "Allow me to explain, the human ear enables one to hear by catching vibrations in the air. However, the eardrum will shatter if it's exposed to vibrations higher than one hundred and fifty decibels. My attack allows me to generate and amplify vibrations as well as apply shocks to your ear canals. As I'm sure you've noticed, this shock causes one to become disoriented and nauseous. You won't be able to move properly for quite some time! Now, I'll show you a wall that hard work alone could never overcome!"

Lee grimaced while the Sound team laughed. Zaku add the insult to the injury with his next pun.

"Your outdated Taijutsu skills won't work very well on us! I'm a nice guy so I'll tell you how my technique works as well," he said cockily. "I can control supersonic waves and air pressure with my hands. With this ability, not only can I make cushions but a blast of air pressure at half of my full strength can destroy a rock. Do you want to experience my full strength first hand?" he sneered while exposing his palm, which had holes in the center of them. Pressurized air gusted out of them.

Apparently, Kin was the Sakura of her squad since she didn't go into a rant about her special skills. Still, Lee growled in frustration at his new predicament. The mummy guy then spoke.

"Now, it's your turn!" he yelled before rushing Sakura.

"No!" cried Lee while stumbling dizzily after him.

It didn't look like Lee would make it in time so Sakura readied a kunai in her defense. It quickly proved useless when Lee vanished into high speed once more. He reappeared with his legs already in motion.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

"Damn!" grunted Dosu, thoroughly annoyed at this change of events.

He braced himself for the blow, but it never came. Lee's body grew weak with dizziness at that moment, an after effect of Dosu's earlier attack. Dosu took advantage of Lee's vulnerability to catch his now slower moving leg. He then took a swat at Lee's head but the green Taijutsu fighter easily blocked it with his arms. The mummy guy didn't seem bothered by it though, and the reason made itself known when a super loud blast of sound attacked Lee's ear again. Although Lee probably couldn't hear him, Dosu begun bragging some more as this was happening.

"My special arm is amplifying the vibrations in your ear to the point of a maxed out speaker! But there's so much more to it than that. Experience the added force of my chakra!"

Lee screamed in pain as what looked like a pressurized blast of air entered his ear. His eyes then glazed over and he slumped to the floor out cold.

"Lee-san!" wailed Sakura.

"Now to finish you off," murmured Dosu with mounting excitement.

"No! I won't let you!" screamed Sakura while hurling a wave of kunai at him.

Dosu quickly blocked the attack with his metal arm guard. Sakura didn't let up there though, she quickly hurled another wave of, this time, shuriken at him. Zaku intercepted the attack and knocked it aside with a blast of pressurized air from his palm. Sakura shielded her eyes from the sudden gust of wind, but this action left her vulnerable to a surprise attack from Kin. The female Sound seized Sakura's hair and gave it a sharp tug, dragging Sakura to her butt. The pink haired ninja's eyes watered in pain.

"Your hair is even glossier than mine. If you have time to care this much for your hair then train more!" taunted her captor with a smirk while yanking Sakura's hair this way and that for a Sakura bobble head effect. "Trying to be sexy for that Sasuke guy? Well then, Zaku, kill him in front of this slut!" teased Kin.

Zaku grinned as well.

"Fine by me!" he replied.

"No!" cried Sakura before being silenced by another sharp yank on her hair.

"Don't move!" barked Kin.

Sakura begun to cry.

"_I can't do anything! All I ever do is get in everyone's way! I-I wanted to protect everyone but…but…_" thought Sakura abjectly.

Zaku begun to approach.

"Let's get this over with," he said with a smirk.

Watching him pass her by was more than Sakura could stand. Desperately, she drew a kunai from her pouch. Kin glared at her.

"Don't waste our time! You can't do anything with that and you know it!" snapped Kin with a look of dislike written over her face.

It changed to one of surprise when Sakura smirked at her mischievously.

"What makes you think I intend to attack you?" she shot back.

As quick as a flash, Sakura cut her hair just as Kin tried yanking on it again. This resulted in the startled Sound kunoichi losing her balance completely. But the sight of Sakura's much shorter hair stunned everyone speechless. Her forehead protector came free from the top of her head and fell with a soft plop to the ground. But her eyes burned with a determination that nobody had ever seen before. The determination to protect those who were important to her!

"Damn it, Kin kill her!" cried Zaku.

Kin eagerly obliged with several kunai in hand. She hurled them at Sakura, who was forming several hand seals.

"_I've always tried to act like an adult_."

Sakura's impaled body went up in a poof of smoke.

"_I've been saying that I love Sasuke-kun and I always lectured Naruto like I was better than him_."

The smoke cleared to reveal a log in her place. The Sounds gave startled starts.

"_But after all this time, I finally realized that I've just been watching their backs_."

Sakura reappeared a few feet away and charged at Zaku, who was smirking in anticipation.

"_Truthfully, they are both so much further ahead of me_."

In a graceful move, Sakura hurled a swarm of kunai at Zaku. He quickly deflected them back at her with a blast of pressurized air.

"_They always have been_."

The wave hit home, but Sakura had once again when up in smoke.

"_I was always the one who got protected_."

Zaku smiled at the sight of the replacement log that was revealed.

"_Even Lee-san told me that he had feelings for me_."

A shadow hovered over Zaku and he glanced up to find Sakura sailing towards him with a lone kunai in hand.

"_So much so that he was able to put his life on the line for me_."

Zaku hurled a swarm of kunai at Sakura before looking about to see where she would appear next.

"_Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Lee-san, I want to become like you_."

Zaku gasped when he felt a drop of warm blood splatter on his cheek from about. With wide eyes, he glanced back up at Sakura who was now in range for an attack. He had been tricked!

"_This time, I want to be the one who protects you_."

Zaku grunted in pain as Sakura stabbed his arm with her kunai. Her teeth latched onto his other arm, causing him to cry out. He desperately begun pounding Sakura on her skull while cursing at her. He could feel a bit of his flesh being slowly ripped away from his arm by Sakura's teeth.

"Ah, let go of me, damn you!" wailed Zaku.

After two minutes of relentless pounding from Zaku, Sakura was beginning to bleed from her nose, eyes and forehead. A particularly sharp blow, nearly dislodged her when she hacked up some blood from her mouth. Still, she stubbornly refused to let go no matter what. However, her weaken state wouldn't allow her to last much longer and she was soon sent flying onto her face with a thud. Zaku scrambled to his feet and rapidly rubbed his smarting arm.

"You stupid little bitch!" he roared angrily.

Sakura weakly climbed to a sitting position and started breathing heavily. Zaku aimed his palm at Sakura with the intent of blowing her to kingdom come. Sakura didn't flinch, but she didn't try to get out of the way either. She had no regrets. Just as Zaku was going to fire, a familiar trio barred Zaku's path. Ino and her comrades had arrived! Everyone's eyes widened at the sight.

"Ino…why?" was all Sakura could manage.

"I told you that I wouldn't lose to you anymore, Sakura. I'll take care of the rest myself!" replied Ino with a smile at her rival before glaring at the Sounds.

"Heh, more pests came out!" observed Zaku with a smile of his own. "I take it you were watching that embarrassing scene?"

Chouji instantly begun to panic.

"Are you guys mad!? These creeps are too dangerous!" wailed the Akimichi.

Shikamaru seized hold of Chouji's scarf before he could run away.

"You baby! It's troublesome, but we have to do this now that Ino has revealed herself. As men, we can 't run away!" reasoned the lazy ninja with a smile and a shrug.

Ino giggled.

"Sorry about getting you guys involved, but we are a three man team!" added Ino with her two cents worth.

Chouji didn't seem convinced.

"No way! I don't want to die! Please let me go!" wailed Chouji while yanking on his scarf.

"Shut up! Whatever happens, happens. We'll just deal with it later!" shot back Shikamaru.

Zaku laughed.

"Go ahead and run if you want, Fatso!" he taunted.

Chouji's ear twitched and he didn't try to struggle anymore. Ino and Shikamaru sweat dropped, this Zaku person was really asking for it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say to me?" said Chouji in a dangerously quiet voice.

Zaku looked confused, but he repeated his taunt all the same.

"I said that you can go jack off in the woods for all I care, Fatass!"

That did it! Chouji whipped around with the eyes of death, and they were glaring straight at Zaku.

"I'm not fat! I'm big boned!" he bellowed while enveloping himself in a spectacular aura of chakra. "Hurray for big boned people!!"

The Sound trio gasped at the butterball's impressive level of power. While Shikamaru and Ino smirked, the fat man was ready to dish out the pain!

"_Awesome, he's pissed off!_" thought Ino with a giggle. "Here we come!" she cried in a singsong voice.

"Geez, this is going to be really troublesome," mumbled Shikamaru.

Team Ten took a step forward.

"Ino, Shika, Chou formation!" they all cried in unison.

"Baika no Jutsu!" bellowed Chouji for his Double Weight technique.

The big man's body blew up like a balloon. Several fissures appeared beneath his feet thanks to his added weight.

"Now Konoha Taijutsu style! Nikudan Sensha!" cried the much larger Chouji for his Meat Tank attack.

His limbs were tucked into his clothes and great blasts of chakra gusted out of his sleeves and pant legs. The chakra propelled him forward and he went into a rapid spin likened after a human pinball. Chouji charged at Zaku.

"Oh wow, it's a rolling fatass!" joked Zaku with a laugh. "_Let's see if it can handle my Air Ripping Blast…_Zankuha!"

With his air pressure being released at full strength, the mighty gust prevented Chouji from advancing any further. However, it didn't seem to be stopping him from rolling either. Zaku grimaced in frustration, Chouji's rapidly spinning body was cutting through his technique! Zaku cried out in surprise when Chouji bounced his spinning body high into the air. Chouji then dropped like a stone towards Zaku, who now was suffering from the cool down effect of his technique leaving him unable to move for several seconds. Dosu quickly tried to rush to Zaku's rescue.

"Not so fast! Kagemane no Jutsu!" cried Shikamaru.

The lazy ninja's shadow then elongated and speedily tagged the mummy guy's shadow. He instantly froze in place.

"What the!?" exclaimed Dosu as his hands begun moving of its own accord.

"Heh, Shadow Imitation is a success!" smirked Shikamaru.

In the end, it was Kin who had knocked Zaku safely aside. She then turned to glare at Dosu.

"What the hell are you doing!?" she cried.

"It's him!" shot back Dosu in humiliation when Shikamaru made him assume a monkey stance.

"Ino! You take care of the last one!" instructed Shikamaru with his frown back in place.

"Right! Take care of my body, Shikamaru!" joked Ino with a wink before forming the seal from before. "Ninpou, Shin Ten Shin no Jutsu!"

Kin was expecting many things, but having her body stolen wasn't one of them. Ino took over her mind and forced her into a state of unconsciousness. Ino's body slumped into Shikamaru's arms while Kin became oddly withdrawn.

"Kin?" cried her comrades in concern.

Ino/Kin opened her eyes and smirked.

"It's over!" cried Ino. "If either of you move, I'll kill this girl!"

She pressed a kunai to her host body's throat to empathize her point.

"Leave your scroll and take a hike!"

Ino raised a confused eyebrow when Zaku and Dosu started chuckling. It turned to one of horror when Zaku aimed his palm at Ino's host.

"Chouji!" she wailed desperately.

Zaku's blast was fast approaching, but it was quickly intercepted by the spinning butterball. Regardless, the force of impact still sent Ino flying painfully into a tree. A thin trickle of blood emerged from the corner of both Ino's and her host's body as well. She had been bluffing!

Ino weakly raised her host's body off of the ground and begun breathing heavily.

"You…you guys would attack your own partner?"

Zaku and Dosu narrowed their eyes.

"You shouldn't take us so lightly. If necessary, we won't hesitate to kill each other off to fulfill our mission," answered Dosu. "Our only goal is to fight and kill Uchiha Sasuke. This little Chuunin exam means nothing to us."

Everyone gasped and Shikamaru's technique ended prematurely due to his lost concentration. Dosu glared at him.

"Looks like you've reached your limit, kids. Too bad, you almost had us," he taunted.

Ino and the others lowered their heads in defeat.

"Feh, how pathetic," said yet another newcomer's voice.

Everyone turned towards it to find Neji and Tenten watching the scene with their arms folded.

"Sound ninja are just fools who prey on the weak after all!" continued Neji with a disapproving glare.

Both Tenten and Neji then shifted their gaze to their unconscious team mate.

"Lee!" cried Tenten worriedly.

"Hmp, he screwed up," observed Neji quietly.

"Great, more vermin to get rid of!" grumbled Zaku. "Why don't you get your cocky asses down here and fight!"

Neji's eyes took on an increase level of frostiness.

"That spandex wearing kid down there is our teammate. By the looks of it, you three crossed the line," growled Neji before wordlessly activating his Byakugan.

Everyone flinched at the sight of his massive veins and overall fearsome look. Neji knew that frightened expressions were on everyone's face because he could easily see everyone without shifting his gaze at all.

"If you still wish to fight, then we will give it everything we have," continued Neji darkly before returning his eyes back to normal.

Tenten noticed this and stared at him with a puzzled look. Neji merely smiled coolly.

"It seems that there's no need for us to get involved after all, Tenten," said Neji, much to the irritation of the Sounds. "Look over there," he nodded his head towards the rising power source he had spotted…

* * *

The darkness was absolute. The darkness was eternal. No matter how hard or how long he stared into the darkness, it wouldn't change. Finally, Sasuke opened his eyes and revealed a brightness that overtook his senses completely.

"_Where…am I?_"

Slowly, a faint image came into focus. The return of the very darkness that Sasuke came to hate. It then manifested itself completely into a more human shape.

"_Who is that?_"

The image came into clearer focus as it grew closer.

"_Is that…me?_"

A younger looking Sasuke stared at his older counterpart. He was dressed in a black uniform shirt with black shorts. He seemed to glare almost accusingly at the older Sasuke.

"Mother and Father…they didn't have to die," a single tear of blood rolled down his cheek.

The moment the droplet hit the almost air like ground, the light faded away completely. The real Sasuke glanced around him at a very familiar room. When he returned his gaze back to his younger self, he found that two bloodied corpse were now laying between them. They were his parents.

"He killed everyone, and I didn't do anything. I didn't have enough power!" the younger Sasuke grasped his head tearfully. "Without power, you can't do anything!"

He glared hatefully at the real Sasuke before grinning evilly.

"No, you killed them. You destroyed our clan! Uchiha Sasuke!!"

The real Sasuke gasped when his younger self's eyes changed to those of Orochimaru. Their cold yellow glow was the last thing Sasuke saw, before his own body burst into purple flame. He screamed…

* * *

Sasuke slowly rose to his feet. His body burned with the power of the very darkness that had consumed him. However, there was no pain, only raw unrestrained strength. His chakra flared and spiked throughout his body with the same color of the fire in his dream. His eyes snapped open to reveal the Sharingan.

There were a lot of insects surrounding him. He recognized two of them as his companions. It was a little hard to remember, but he thought that one of them was named Sakura. The devil that had once been Sasuke reached out with his senses. Most of the chakras he sensed were rather weak by comparison to his own. Only two of them seemed strong enough to be of much interest. He turned towards the strongest one, at the moment, and sized up the silent boy with the tan vest. He felt familiar to the dark being, not that the devil cared to remember. He then turned towards the second strongest power source, the sleeping blond kid. Naruto he believed his name was.

His emotionless eyes passed him by quickly and he turned back to his other companion. He glared hard at her for a moment before speaking.

"Sakura…" he said in a cold voice.

It was almost as if the devil was testing the sound of that name on his tongue. Everyone present begun to tremble in fear when he spoke. The devil could sense their fear, like a sweet nectar to his senses. The power that this thing…what had once been Sasuke was overwhelming them all. Only Neji seemed unfazed, if a bit intrigued by the foul sensation of Sasuke's chakra.

"Sakura…who did this to you?" asked the dark monster quietly.

For a moment, Sakura was too frightened to speak. She couldn't bear to look into this thing's eyes. So instead, she stared at the markings that were slowly spreading about it's body.

"Sasuke-kun…your body…" she managed to say in barely a whisper.

The devil seemed to hear her well enough though. He examined his hand, which was covered in black spots that were spreading like a virus. It didn't hold his interest for very long however.

"Don't worry about it. All that's important is that now I have to power to destroy whoever it was that hurt you. I feel good," said Sasuke quietly. "Master Orochimaru-sama gave it to me."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. If it weren't for her fear, Sakura would've been trying to throttle Sasuke back to his sense. Instead she sputtered a single word.

"What?"

The devil flexed his hand, testing the feel of it with emotionless yet internal excitement.

"I finally understand why he chose me," he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I'm an avenger. To kill him I must obtain power no matter what. Even if it means accepting the devil's fruit and surrendering my body."

Sakura's eyes filled with tears, this wasn't the man she loved. This person, was a blood thirsty monster! Sasuke mistook Sakura's sad tears for those of pain, and vowed to do something about it.

"Tell me, Sakura! Who the hell hurt you!?" he demanded harshly.

Sakura whimpered and was about to speak when…

"I did!" declared Zaku with a grin.

The devil's cold eyes locked onto Zaku with no mercy present. This only served to excite Zaku even more. The Sound didn't know very much about this cursed seal that Dosu had warned him about, but he wasn't going to turn tail and run from some half dead freak that just woke up from a nap! He stared balefully back into those blood red orbs and sneered.

"Ino!" cried Shikamaru drawing everyone's attention except for Sasuke, who had eyes only for Zaku. "Get out of there! You might get mistaken for the enemy!"

"Right!" cried Ino before desperately forming a seal. "Kai!"

Kin's body dropped lifelessly to the ground while Ino returned to her own body. She, Shikamaru and Chouji then took cover behind a nearby tree. Kin slowly stirred and climbed back to her feet tiredly. Her eyes too became fearful upon seeing the curse marks on Sasuke's body. The huge chakra force radiating from him didn't help her nerves very much either.

"What's going on?" she cried to her comrades.

Dosu answered with a shaky voice.

"This guy…he's too strong for us! We have to retreat!"

Zaku thought otherwise.

"Relax, Dosu! This guy was half dead when we found him. Let's get him!"

Dosu looked at him as if he had gone mental.

"No, Zaku! You'll be killed for sure!"

But Zaku had already started his attack.

"Eat this! Zankukyokuha!"

If Zaku's last attack had seemed strong, it was nothing compared to the Extreme Decapitating Air Waves. This attack fused Zaku's air pressure and supersonic waves together, both at one hundred percent. The tree shelter and well over ten meters of forest had been pulverized by the blast! So powerful was the attack, that the others had to brace themselves against other objects to avoid being blown away. Zaku was left breathing heavily due to the massive cool down effect of his attack. He smiled at his handy work all the same.

"Heh, got em!" he gasped.

"Got who?" came a cold voice directly next to him.

Zaku didn't even have time to turn his head towards Sasuke before he was sent flying by an almost lazy backhand from the dark warrior. Zaku rolled and bounced on the ground several times before he came to a halt at Dosu's feet. The battered Sound hacked up a mouthful of blood from a swollen jaw.

"Zaku!" cried Dosu and Kin in shock.

Everyone glanced towards the devil, who had yet to turn towards them. Sitting and laying behind him were Sakura and Naruto respectively. All of them were unharmed.

"_What amazing speed! He easily avoided the attack while carrying his friends as well! I couldn't follow it at all!_" thought Dosu with wide eyes.

No doubt the others were thinking the same thing. The devil then turned around, making the Sounds flinch. Sasuke flashed through several seals at an unnaturally fast pace. His hands were a barely visible blur.

"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" cried Sasuke.

However, instead of spitting the fireballs from his mouth. Four of them launched at the stunned Sounds directly from his body! Quickly Zaku took aim with his palms.

"Zankuha!"

A blast of strictly air pressure blew the flames out like a candle. However, the fireballs were really acting as a shield to prevent the quartet of shurikens from being blown away. The Sounds gasped once more at the devil's brilliance. Zaku screamed as the stars ripped into him. The wave had no sooner passed when Zaku felt two excruciating kicks to the back of his legs. Zaku dropped onto both knees with a pained cry before his arms were roughly seized and pulled behind his back to the point of breaking. He screamed in agony as Sasuke planted one foot into the small of his back, directly on the spine. The devil grinned excitedly and laughed.

"You're fond of your arms aren't you?" he asked with a bit of humor added to his cold voice.

"WAIT, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!" Zaku screamed but it was far too late.

Sasuke pulled both arms free of their sockets with sickening cracks. Zaku shrieked loudly enough to stir of several birds within the forest. Everyone's mouths dropped open in pure horror! Zaku's mouth was frozen in that now silent shriek even when he lost consciousness. Sasuke let Zaku's broken body drop to the ground with that sadist grin pasted on his face the hold time. The devil then turned around to face Dosu with the desire for the sight of blood shining in his eyes.

"All that's left are you two. I hope you can entertain me better than he did," said the devil while licking his lips hungrily.

Dosu and Kin trembled so bad that a Inari seemed likely. Dosu could already feel moisture in his pants. Sasuke begun advancing towards them…

"_What's happening to you…you're not the Sasuke-kun that I know…you've become…you've become…_"

Sakura stood up and ran towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" she cried before wrapping her arms around him from behind.

The devil glared at her coldly over his shoulder.

"Let go of me, or I swear I will kill you," he growled darkly.

Sakura's heart broke at these words and her tears freely fell from her eyes. But, she would never let go until her Sasuke-kun came back to his senses.

"Please, stop…" she whispered between sobs. "Come back to me, Sasuke-kun!"

The devil knew of no Sasuke-kun, only blood and pain could appeal to him now. But something about her eyes made him hesitate. He didn't know why, but memories of his life drifted into his mind's eye. He remembered Sakura's warm smiles and desires to make him happy. He also remembered times when he had been able to smile back. Even Naruto and the brotherly rivalry between them invaded his thoughts. These memories seemed to calm the devil's craving for pain considerably. Slowly, the cursed seal that had nearly consumed his body completely begun to subside. The Sharingan vanished from his eyes as well and the dark being retreated to the far corner of Sasuke's mind to rest until the desire to feed consumed him once more. Uchiha Sasuke woke up at that moment…

Sasuke weakly fell onto his butt and gasped for air. The sear power, or any hint that he had been overtaken in the first place seemed like a distant dream now. Sakura kneeled next to the Uchiha and sobbed uncontrollably onto his shoulder. Sasuke awkwardly embraced her with the intent of asking her what had happened later on. All the event's beyond the encounter with Orochimaru was alien to him at this point. The terrified Sounds stilled continued to tremble despise the fact that Sasuke's frightening strength had subsided. Dosu produced the Earth scroll from his pocket.

"You're too strong! We cannot defeat you!" said the humbled Sound fearfully.

Sasuke looked at him in confusion before glancing at Sakura as if to say "What is he talking about?" Sakura shook her head and silently promised to fill him in later. Dosu slowly set the scroll down and backed away from it. He then slung Zaku over his shoulder by his waist and turned back to Sasuke for a parting word.

"Please, allow us to leave. I know it's a lot to ask of you, but the three of us need to confirm something," pleaded Dosu. "However, if we should battle a second time during the exam, we won't run or hide. I give you our word."

Sasuke nodded his agreement. With that, the Sounds turned to dash away…

"Hold on! Please tell us! What is this mark that Orochimaru put on Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura.

Dosu glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm not completely certain myself. But that mark, is a product of chaos and pure evil. Our only orders were to find and kill Sasuke-kun. That's all I know."

Satisfied with his answer, Sakura allowed him to leave. The Sounds slowly strode away into the forest. With them gone, Team Ten immediately spread out to attend to the others. Neji and Tenten just watched…

* * *

Anko had just arrived at Sarutobi's place. Currently, she was recapping the events that occurred between her and Orochimaru while the Third patiently listened. Sagitario and the ANBU stood on either side of her and listened as well. Once her summary ended, Sarutobi rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"We'll have to cancel the exam and dispatch the Hunter ninjas," he said seriously.

Anko stood up and leaned on Sarutobi's desk.

"Please, Hokage-sama! We can't cancel the exam!" she pleaded desperately.

The Third was just about to speak when, his office door burst opened.

"Anko-sama!" cried one of the examiners from the hut outside the Forest of Death.

"What is it!? I'm having an important meeting with Hokage-sama!" snapped Anko angrily.

"M-my apologies, Anko-sama! But I think you should take a look at this!" said the examiner while holding up a video tape.

Sagitario took the tape, and after receiving the O.K. from Sarutobi, inserted it into a cassette player. The television set flickered to life and the video begun playing.

"Okay, take a look at this." said the examiner while pointing to the time keeper.

The numbers read 15:28a.m. At that moment, Genmaru and his comrades appeared on the screen. They paused to marvel at the tower structure from up close before entering it. The screen then flickered black and white with static before showing a different time, 16:37a.m. Gaara and his team arrived on the scene. Unlike Team Nine, Gaara turned to glare directly into the hidden camera. His squad then entered the tower. Everyone gave starts of surprise.

"It's amazing! Twenty-eight minutes after the start of the exam, the first group entered the tower. Then an hour and nine minutes after that, the second group followed!" said the examiner excitedly. "This has never happened before!"

"Is that humanly possible!?" exclaimed Anko with wide eyes.

Sagitario chuckled.

"Not bad at all for their first try! I simply have to take them out to celebrate when this is over!" chuckled Sagitario in pleasure.

Sarutobi chuckled at the incredulous look that Anko was giving Sagitario. No doubt she was wondering what kind of training he had been giving those kids.

"These guys can't be Genin! They broke the old record by over five hours!" voiced the examiner.

"There's more to it than that!" said Anko. "None of them had any injuries at all. The forest is filled with beasts, poisonous hazards and steep trails. This is truly hard to believe."

"Indeed," agreed the Third. "But the redhead kid interests me the most. Note that his clothes aren't dirty at all."

Even the ANBU seemed impressed. This kid gave new meaning to the term, untouchable. Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and took a drag on his pipe.

"It's been many years since so many promising people had took part in this exam. It would be a shame not to see how this plays out," murmured the Third with his eyes closed.

Anko spun around with a disbelieving look.

"So you'll…"

The Third nodded.

"The Chuunin exam will continue," he said.

And boy was it going to be an interesting one…

* * *

Naruto woke up with a loud cry of pain. He seized hold of his throbbing head and glared reproachfully at Chouji, who was holding a stick in his hand. He and Shikamaru were frowning at Naruto with dislike written on their faces. Naruto, far too used to this kind of treatment, ignored them and glanced around. His eyes instantly filled with confusion.

"Where did that snake guy disappear to? Did Sasuke and Sakura beat him?" he wondered aloud.

Naruto's eyes then settled on Sakura. He did a double take and his jaw dropped open in shock. Sakura's hair was short!!

"Sakura-chan!" he wailed before jumping to his feet.

The blond immediately felt that something was wrong. His weights felt so heavy that his arms and legs begun to scream. His arms dragged him onto his stomach.

"Nani!?" he cried while struggling to lift his arm again.

It was no use, Naruto's strength had abandoned him. Sakura and Sasuke, who turned towards him after he cried out, rushed and hobbled to his side.

"Naruto! What's wrong?" cried Sakura in alarm.

Naruto trembled as he strained to climb to his feet. His arms never rose off the ground even when Sakura and Sasuke helped him manage a sitting position.

"I don't understand! My body, feels so weak right now! It's hard to move in these!" he groaned.

Both Sakura and Sasuke grew thoughtful while the others look on in confusion to what they were talking about. It was Sasuke who spoke first.

"It must've been that technique. It was one of the sealing moves," theorized the Uchiha.

"That's it! Orochimaru must've sealed away most of your chakra!" added Sakura. "Your strength must have been decreased because your body isn't supplying your muscles with as much chakra as normal!"

Naruto moaned in despair.

"What do I do now!?" he wailed.

None of his comrades had an answer. After a few minutes of tense silence during which Ino gave first aid treatment to Sasuke and Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi spoke.

"I think we should have Kakashi-sensei examine you the next time we see him," suggested Sakura. "In the meantime, you've best leave those weights behind."

Naruto gave a start.

"No way! These were a gift to me from Genmaru! I'm not just going to abandon them!!" protested the upset blond.

Sakura put on her annoyed frown.

"Look, Naruto! You can't even stand with those things on! This isn't the time to be showing off!"

Naruto ignored her and tried standing up again. His arms still wouldn't come off of the ground, but he found that by forcibly pumping extra chakra into his muscles he could at least move about.

"See! I can move just fine!" lied the straining blond.

Everyone sighed at his stubbornness, but didn't press the issue since he could at least move around now. Shikamaru and Ino, who now had Lee slung over her shoulders, still muttered the word stupid under their breath but Naruto could care less. It was just another handicap in his eyes. He turned slowly towards Sakura and voiced what was on his mind.

"What happened to your hair, Sakura-chan?"

Despise her annoyance with Naruto, her eyes softened at this comment.

"Oh, I'm just changing my image," she replied with a sad smile. "I like long hair, but you know how that sort of thing gets in my way in a forest area like this."

Sasuke didn't look convinced, but Naruto accepted the logic behind it. He then turned towards Shikamaru and the others with a puzzled frown on his face.

"By the way, why are you guys here anyway?" he asked.

"Explaining such a thing is too troublesome for me," grumbled Shikamaru with a frown.

The others didn't look like they wanted to go into much detail either. It was Sakura who answered him.

"Everyone helped us," she quietly said with a smile.

"Huh?" grunted the blond.

While Sakura recapped the events that occurred while Naruto slept, minus the part about Dark Sasuke and the cursed seal; during which Sasuke listened intently to when she got to the summery of the battle with the Sound trio. Tenten approached Ino.

"I'll take Lee now," she said.

"Okay," was all Ino said before handing him over.

Immediately, Tenten begun to throttle Lee violently.

"Wake up, you fool!" she yelled at him as she did this.

Everyone sweat dropped. Lee blearily opened one of his eyes.

"Tenten?" he mumbled. "Why are you here?"

"Neji and I were looking for you!" replied Tenten while kneeling in front of him.

Lee begun looking around.

"Where did those Sound guys go?" he asked warily.

"That Sasuke boy drove them off," she replied.

"I see…" murmured Lee while glancing at Naruto and the others. "_Naruto-san is awake too. And Sakura, what happened to her hair?_" he observed.

"Why did fight on your own?" demanded Tenten with a frown. "You could been killed! You certainly looked it when we found you!"

Lee lowered his gaze to the ground. Tenten was going to make a good mother one day.

"Sakura-chan was in danger, so as a man I had to protect her."

A tiny hint of jealously touched Tenten's eyes.

"You really are an idiot you know that!?" she cried.

Lee's eyes became sad.

"I can't argue with that," he agreed.

Sakura approached them at that moment.

"Lee-san…thank you," said Sakura quietly. "Thanks to you, my eyes are wide open now. I think I've become a little stronger too." she smiled.

Lee's eyes filled with tears.

"Sakura-chan!" he said happily with a blush.

He hastily wiped away his tears.

"It looks like I need more training," he looked sadly at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, you truly are an Uchiha. Congratulations on driving away the Sound ninjas that I couldn't defeat."

Sasuke nodded, haven already heard the story from Sakura. Lee turned back to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, the Lotus in Konoha always blooms twice. So…the next time we meet, I will be an even stronger man!" promised Lee with a warm smile.

Sakura returned his smile just as warmly and nodded.

"Okay."

At that moment, Ino called.

"Sakura! Let me fix up your hair!" she cried with a wave.

"Okay, thank you!" agreed Sakura with a third smile.

Things were finally getting back to normal…

* * *

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke spent the next three days recovering by the river. Naruto had spent the first two days reconditioning his body to his weights. But it was on the last day, that the topic of what was contained within the scroll was brought up. Time was running short, and the trio only had twenty-six hours at best to find a Heaven scroll and get to the tower. So once Sasuke wasn't looking, Naruto and Sakura attempted to open the scroll. They were stopped, just in time it seemed, by Kabuto!

"You two really are idiots you know that?" Sasuke scolded his comrades once he found out what they tried to do.

Naruto and Sakura bowed their head apologetically.

"Sorry," they murmured sadly.

"Those who break the rules will find themselves forced into a situation where they are forced to retire," scolded Kabuto as well. "In the previous exam, those who opened the scroll where punished with a deep sleep inducing Jutsu that wouldn't wear off until five days had passed."

"Sorry," murmured the duo once again.

Kabuto couldn't find it in his heart to stay mad at them. They simply didn't know. He tried to cheer them up with an amused smile. It worked, and the crestfallen duo smiled back. Sasuke then turned to Kabuto with a serious look on his face.

"Why are you here alone?" he asked the gray haired ninja suspiciously.

Kabuto chuckled.

"Hey don't be like that. It's not like I was after your scroll or anything like that!" said Kabuto cheerily.

"That's right. If you were, you could've easily stolen the scroll from Naruto since his guard was down," grumbled Sasuke. "You must be after the Heaven scroll then."

"Not quite," replied Kabuto while reaching into his pouch. "I already have both," he held up a set of the white and burgundy scrolls.

"Cool!" said Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm really happy for you, Kabuto-san!" added Sakura.

"Yeah, well I went through a lot of trouble to get these scrolls," said Kabuto while coolly pocketing them. "I was just on my way to the tower now. Sorry I can't stick around, later."

Kabuto had no sooner turned around when Sasuke spoke.

"Hang on!"

Kabuto turned back around, politely curious.

"Fight with us," requested Sasuke quietly.

"Hello, earth to Sasuke! Kabuto-san helped us, you moron!" cried Naruto.

"I'm siding with Naruto on this one. It just doesn't seem right," added Sakura.

Sasuke glared at them before shifting his gaze back to Kabuto.

"Fight us," repeated Sasuke.

Kabuto smirked.

"And why would I want to do that, Sasuke-kun?"

"Look, we don't have much time! I wish it were someone else, but we need that scroll!" reasoned the Uchiha.

"You don't think things through very much do you, Sasuke-kun?" asked Kabuto with one eye closed in an almost pitying look.

"What was that?" growled the Uchiha.

"Come now, if you were as prepared as you pretend to be then you wouldn't have bothered challenging me like this. A serious ninja would've attacked me while I had my guard down," logically pointed out Kabuto. "Don't worry, I don't hate you for this. A few years ago I might've done the same thing. So as a gift to you guys, I'll help you out a bit. Follow me."

Everyone became more hopeful. They may still have a shot yet. The quartet then took to the tree tops, en route towards the tower. Kabuto proved to be very talkative and knowledgeable about enemy behavior.

"The remaining few teams are sure to be gathered around the tower by now. Since this is the last day, this would be the easiest place to find a scroll," explained Kabuto.

"I see, we'll be able to ambush the teams that are on their way to the tower!" realized Naruto.

"Correct, but it won't be as easy as you make it sound," said Kabuto. "Remember the other teams will have came up with the same idea. There will be a lot of traps around there because of it. You guys will also have to be wary of the collectors."

"Collectors?" echoed Sakura.

"Yeah. Stronger than average ninjas and alliances that take more scrolls than needed and trade them to other teams for favors and information. Don't be surprised if you find yourselves fighting nine or twelve enemies at the same time," warned Kabuto.

"Interesting," commented Sasuke with a smirk. "I take it that you're helping us because you're afraid of meeting one of these alliances."

"As much as I hate to admit it, yes that's one of the reasons why I'm helping you. The other reason however, is a bit personal," replied Kabuto.

"Not problem, we understand!" said Naruto. "It's just another handicap for us to overcome!"

The blond grinned excitedly…

* * *

It was dusk by the time they neared the perimeter of the tower. The quartet had advanced more slowly to buy themselves more time to take notice of traps. They had also stopped at one point or another to grill some fish for lunch. They were now taking a more foliage filled path to avoid detection.

"There's the tower," said Kabuto while pointing to the east.

Sure enough, the top half of the tower was visible pass the treetops.

"Alright! Let's go!" cried Naruto loudly making everyone winch.

"Idiot!" hissed Sasuke.

A murderous intent immediately appeared behind the group. Quickly Naruto withdrew and hurled a kunai towards it. A pained cry rang out and everyone turned towards it to find perhaps the most ugly critter they had ever seen. A giant Konoha centipede was writhing, pinned to a tree trunk with Naruto's kunai logged into it's head area. It twitched one last time before becoming still.

"Brr, how creepy!" shuttered Sakura.

"It's also extremely poisonous. Naruto-kun, I want to avoid loud noises from now on," said Kabuto sternly. "In a much worse case scenario, that could been the enemy instead of a wild beast. It'll save us a lot of trouble if the enemy doesn't hear or detect us, okay?"

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Good. I suggest that we slow our pace even more until we reach the tower. We still have fourteen hours left, so let's make the most of them to insure our survival."

"Right," chorused the trio quietly.

They then followed the most over growth filled path they could find, to further conceal themselves…

For the most part, they were making good progress. Other than one instance where Naruto had gotten tangled up in some low hanging vines that he failed to notice and set off a kunai wave trap. Kabuto had saved him from the knives using a basic replacement technique. During the journey, the only other sign of human existence were three deceased bodies. The result of a brutal poison tipped needle trap. Still they trekked on, for nearly two hours before Sakura tiredly sank to her bottom.

"I can't go any further!" she whined while breathing heavily. "We've been walking and walking but the tower isn't getting any closer at all!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the tower. Sure enough, it was still the same distance away from since they began. Naruto frowned.

"Weird. I thought that we would've been there by now," he murmured.

Kabuto smirked.

"Interesting. Guys, take a look over there," said the gray haired ninja with a point.

The others followed the direction of his finger to find the same creepy-crawly that Naruto had killed earlier!

"No way! Is it Genjutsu?" asked Sakura nervously.

"I'm afraid so. We're being watched," confirmed Kabuto while everyone put up their guards. "Apparently, we were tricked into wandering in circles so that we would tire out."

"An alliance?" asked Sasuke.

"Maybe, we're about to find out," replied Kabuto while nodding to some trees.

From out of the tree trunks and ground, nearly fifty ninjas that looked at lot like the scuba diver Rain ninja Team Seven had beaten before appeared. The difference was that their outfits were black and their eyes weren't visible. They begun staggering towards the quartet like a bunch of freakish zombies. The group huddled back to back, completely surrounded. Naruto and Sasuke smiled confidently.

"Here they come," observed Sasuke.

"Heh, haven we done this before?" said Naruto with a chuckle in reference to the Zabuza showdown. "This is going to be a pretty good handicap!"

One of the, obviously, water clones spoke.

"Oh, we've caught quite a few mice in our trap," all of the other clones laughed.

"Shut up!" cried Naruto while lunging forward with a wild punch.

The blow blasted through a clone's stomach like a karate master's fist through a block of wood. The blond hopped back with a victorious grin. However, instead of dissolving into a puddle of fluid as usual, another hand emerged from the gapping hole holding a double edged kunai.

"What the…what's going on!?" cried Naruto with everyone's thoughts.

Following the hand, the head and torso of another clone emerged from the wound. This was anything but normal. Sasuke then closed his eyes and formed a prayer seal.

"Sharingan!"

Seeing this, the hydra like clone attempted to rush Naruto since he was the closest target. Sasuke quickly hurled a swarm of shuriken at the thing's arm. The flying stars easily sliced it off by striking the same spot repeatedly. The wannabe hydra turned both heads towards Sasuke in what he imagined was suppose to be a glare, not that the thing had eyes to glare with. It hurled its' double edged kunai at Sasuke. The Uchiha tensed in preparation to leap aside when he suddenly froze.

'_It's all your fault! You kill mom and dad! You killed them Uchiha Sasuke!_' came the voice of his younger self.

"_You're wrong! It was him, he's the one who did it!_" shot back Sasuke.

'_Liar! It was you! All because you didn't have enough power! Why did you let him do it? Why Sasuke!?_'

"_Shut up! Get out of my head!_" screamed the Uchiha mentally.

'_You kill them! You kill them!_'

Kabuto sensed that Sasuke wasn't going to act in time and quickly tackled him out of the way. Sasuke barely even noticed, his eyes were glazed over as he argued with the voice in his head. The splatter of Kabuto's blood onto his face from the arm wound inflicted by the knife, stirred something inside of him awake.

"Kabuto-san! Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura in alarm.

Kabuto stood up with a winch and protectively stood in front of the Uchiha. Sakura kneeled next to him and screamed something at him. Sasuke didn't hear her, he couldn't hear her. Only the voice and the dull burning that spread from his neck could reach him now.

'_You're a murderer, Sasuke! A murderer!_'

The voice then changed.

"_**But I can change all of that. I can give you what you desire. Submit yourself to me. Submit, to the power that is Devil**_"

"_No! I can't! I wont!_" cried Sasuke's voice, but it sounded small even to himself.

"_**You must. Devil is power, Devil is absolute. Only with the power Devil commands will you be able to crush all who dares to oppose you. Submit to me, set me free!**_"

"NOO!" cried Sasuke aloud while violently sitting upright.

"Sasuke-kun?!" cried Sakura in alarm as his hand grasped the cursed seal on his neck.

It burned more painfully than he could ever had imagined. But the voice continued to whisper in his ear, faint but not truly gone.

Kabuto was examining the double edged knife with his good hand. His eyes narrowed darkly.

"This is no illusion. That rules out the possibility of it being a regular clone. But I've never seen a Bunshin that behaves like this before," mused Kabuto grimly.

"Does that mean that they're shadow replications?" asked Naruto with a kunai drawn. "But they should've disappeared when I hit them! What's going on!?"

One of the hydra like clones staggered faster than normal towards the blond.

"Dammit!" cried Naruto while rearing back his kunai arm.

"W-wait, Naruto!" cried Sasuke suddenly. "This is just an illusion. Nothing but pure Genjutsu," he said between gasps for breath.

"But Sasuke-kun, Kabuto-san's wound is real!" pointed out Sakura.

But Kabuto said otherwise.

"Sasuke-kun is right. The real enemy is most likely attacking while hiding nearby," said Kabuto while warily looking about. "Note that the illusions have only attacked us with kunai throws so far."

"In that case, I'll find those bastards and beat them up! That'll teach them to throw knives at us!" declared Naruto angrily.

"Don't bother, Naruto. Those guys could be anywhere around us and I'm sure that they'll move if it looks like we're going to find them. It's a fighting style that is often used by those who are weak at long and close ranged Taijutsu combat," explained Kabuto quietly. "We'll have to dodge for now. Hopefully their weapons will run out before our time is up."

Everyone mentally cursed. Things were not looking up. The quartet then spent the better part of an hour dodging and blocking random kunai throws. It wasn't long before the group started to tire. The only good that came out of this was that Sasuke was too busy avoiding attacks to be able to listen to the constant whispering of his inner voice. Sakura screamed in frustration.

"There's no end to this!" she cried.

Naruto growled and formed a seal.

"Then I'll use this! Kage…" he begun.

"Don't, Naruto-kun! You'll just waste chakra attacking them!" cut in Kabuto.

"No! I'm sick of running! If we can at least get rid of the illusions, the real guys won't be able to attack us without giving away their location!" said Naruto heatedly. "Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The area then filled with thirty Narutos. With loud cries, they charged at the staggering illusions. The illusions were being destroyed time and time again by the army. But just as quickly as Naruto eliminated them they would come back.

"We're not done yet!" cried the Narutos in unison.

They all charged again, but this time the others joined in as well…

Nearly three hours later, all of the Naruto clones had been beaten. The others were all too tired to move and Naruto himself was the only one standing, although of wobbly legs.

"This…ain't…over yet!" he gasped before falling onto his rear as well.

The illusions stared at them for a few more seconds, then they all vanished. The real Rains then strode into the clearing with amused eyes.

"Hi, remember me?" asked the one that Naruto Sakura and Sasuke had fought on the first day.

His teammates stood on either side of him. They were snickering.

"I've finally found you punks. Ready for round two?" he continued with a kunai in hand.

For the longest nobody moved. Then Naruto grinned.

"Sure, I'll be happy to kick your butt again! But my friends would like a word with you first!" he said.

Sasuke's voice then rang out from somewhere in the trees. The Rain's eyes widened, the Uchiha sitting in front of him never said anything.

"Looks like we've caught a few mice in our trap, right?" taunted Sasuke from some unknown location.

"Nice plan, Naruto! Good idea using the riot to fill us in!" came Sakura's voice from directly behind the Rains!

They turned around to find Kabuto, Sakura and Sasuke smirking at them. They spun back around and witnessed their copies transform into grinning Narutos. They had been tricked!

"We've got you now, ya bastards!" declared the real Naruto.

The Rains begun cursing under their breaths.

"You're not so great for a Genjutsu specialist," taunted Sasuke. "Naruto! Take a break. We'll handle things from here."

The Rains turned around to face Sasuke and the others, only to be on the receiving end of a sneak attack from the blond. They had been tricked again! This time into dropping their guards and turning their backs to Naruto, never a smart thing.

"No way, Sasuke! I'll never let you take all of the good parts!" gasped Naruto with a grin.

The others smirked. This was so like Naruto, to keep fighting until he couldn't fight anymore. The Rains climbed to their feet with frightened eyes.

"How is it that you can still fight after all of that!?" cried one of them.

Naruto merely took on a battle pose. Seeing this, the Rains spread out and face him with poses of their own. They then formed the same seal that Naruto used when making shadow clones.

"Very well then, try this on for size! Ninpou, Obara Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clearing filled over sixty Hazy Replications. They all glared at the blond, who was immediately flanked by his battle ready teammates.

"Stay back guys!" ordered the blond. "I'll take them on alone!"

Sakura looked worried, but the others nodded their understanding.

"Be careful, Naruto. They may be planning something," advised Sasuke.

Naruto shrugged it off.

"Only three of them are real right? I'll just keep swinging until I nail one of them!" declared the blond before pressing the catch release button on his weights.

They fell with a heavy thud onto the ground. The blond then took off his leg weights and started stretching his aching muscles. With a cry, an aura of slightly flickering chakra surrounded him. The flickering being a sign that his chakra reserves were about to hit rock bottom. Still, the power rush strengthened Naruto just as always.

The blond then vanished in a flash of high speed. The blond reappeared directly in front of one clone's face and lashed out with a beheading snap kick. Naruto's leg passed through empty air, but the clone didn't disappear. Thinking nothing of it, Naruto vanished again to attack the next one. A minute passed and Naruto was certain that he had hit at least forty clones, with the same results. He didn't want to think about the number of them that he had hit more than once. Since they didn't disappear, it was hard to keep track of that little detail.

Sasuke keep close watch on Naruto's progress and grimaced. He was going to need some help for this one. The blond was slowing down to the point where even Sakura and Kabuto were able to follow his movement for brief periods of time.

"_Damn! This is the last of my chakra!_" thought Sasuke before refocusing his Sharingan on the clones themselves.

The Uchiha's eyes widened in surprise before the burning on his neck became unbearable. With a cry he dropped to his knees.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura as usual.

She gasped upon spotting his neck.

"_The mark, it's spreading again!_" she realized…

"_**You will submit to me. Sleep and your pain will end.**_"

"_I already told you! Stay out of my head!_" cried Sasuke.

"_**Do you not desire to protect your friends?**_"

"_Protect?_"

"_**Do you want to destroy him, the one who took everything from you?**_"

"_Yes_."

"_**Then why do you fear me?**_"

"_I don't want to lose myself again_."

"_**Your mind will remain your own. I only offer you the sincerity of sleep so that you may remain pure. When you awaken, all of your enemies shall be no more. Submit to me.**_"

"_I-I_…"

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura, rousing Sasuke from his mind. "Don't use your Sharingan anymore!"

Naruto's paused and spun around when he heard Sakura's cry.

"Sakura-chan!" he cried instantly alarmed.

"You let your guard down!" came a voice behind him.

Naruto spun back around to find one of the clones bringing a kunai down towards his head. In a flash, the blond disappeared and reappeared behind him. He grabbed hold of the clone's shirt and pulled him backwards. Naruto landed on his back and used his foot to launch the clone into the air. He then kicked up back onto his feet.

"Damn them!" growled Naruto in annoyance before tensing for another speed burst.

"Naruto!" called Sasuke. "Don't waste your time, the real one isn't anywhere in that crowd."

"Then where are the real ones!?" demanded Naruto while speedily ducking a kunai thrust.

He took hold of that guy's arm and flipped him into a crowd of other clones. None of them vanished or slowed as expected.

"I don't know! This would've been over already if I did!" shot back Sasuke while winching in pain.

The burning had intensified tenfold. A bunch of clones then surrounded Naruto on every side. The rapidly begun thrusting their kunai at his head repeatedly. Naruto's head was a blur as he avoided thrust after thrust. He ducked when all of the clones reared back for a major thrust at once. The clones ended up stabbing each other instead. Naruto vanished from between them in a flash. When he reappeared, he sank to his knees. His chakra reserves were completely drained!

"Ugh, my body! I can't move!" groaned Naruto between gasps.

"Looks like you've reached your limits, kid. Lucky me!" cried a clone while jumping upwards for an overhand slash.

Naruto closed his eyes and braced himself for impact. Kabuto dashed forward and blocked the blow with his kunai. Naruto looked up when he heard the shing of metal on metal.

"Kabuto-san?" said a surprised Naruto.

The gray haired ninja flipped the clone onto his back. Direct attacks may not have worked to well, but throws did the job just fine.

"Naruto-kun! Run away aagu!"

The gray hair ninja sank to his knees and dropped onto his side. Kabuto's back had three knife slashes on it. Three Rain ninjas rose out of the ground with blood soaked kunai. These were the real ones.

"Kabuto-san!" wailed Naruto before screaming in rage.

The blond vanished in another burst of speed and reappeared to score a brutal kick into the face of one of the Rains! He staggered into his teammates, knocking them over and effectively dispelling the Clone technique. The one Naruto kicked was completely out cold while the others were cradling wounds that they had accidentally inflicted upon themselves during the domino effect.

"Don't let your guard down was it?" said Naruto with a smirk before slumping over due to lack of energy.

Kabuto painfully sat up and smiled at Naruto sheepishly.

"Thank you for saving me, Naruto-kun. That wasn't much fun at all," said the gray haired ninja.

Naruto tiredly flashed the thumbs up. The fight had been won!

* * *

The quartet spent six hours recovering with some much needed shut eye. But not before tying up the Rains and taking their Heaven scroll! They were now on there way to the toward with less than two hours remaining on the clock. During the walk, Kabuto and Sasuke slowed their stride a bit so that they could talk privately.

"During the fight back there, I saw the mark on your neck. Do you mind telling me where you got it?" asked Kabuto.

Sasuke's glare more or less told him that he didn't want to talk about it. Kabuto nodded in understanding and the rest of the trip was made in silence. The only exception was Naruto, who had recovered amazingly fast in those few hours of sleep. He was almost just as bouncy and loud as usual, and he kept peering into his pouch to look at the Heaven scroll every few minutes with a big grin on his face. Sakura was just as happy, though she didn't show it as much as Naruto did.

They arrived at the tower with just forty-two minutes worth of time left. They had pressed it mighty close that time. Just as Kabuto had said, his teammates greeted them once they made it to the front door.

"You're late!" said one guy who was dressed just like Kabuto except for his eye hiding sunglasses and the dark purple veil that hid his face from view. His name was Akado Yoroi.

Standing behind Yoroi was another guy dressed like Kabuto. He too had wire framed glasses, but his hair was brown. His name was Misumi Tsurugi.

"I ran into some trouble," explained Kabuto with a hand behind his head. "Sorry about that."

Naruto laughed.

"But he helped us get two scrolls!" added the blond in an effort to back him up.

Kabuto gave the blond a look of gratitude.

"I think it was more because of your hard work this time, Naruto-kun," contradicted Kabuto good naturedly. "You were especially incredible, Naruto-kun!"

The blond grinned with both hands behind his head.

"Well, best of luck to us both eh?" said Kabuto with the thumbs up.

"Yeah!" replied Naruto and Sakura.

The two teams then separated. Naruto and his comrades entered the tower and followed the newly placed arrow markers to a big room with several sealed doors. Naruto attempted to open one, but it was no good.

"Damn, what do we do now!?" he cried to the empty air in irritation.

"Well, look at that," said Sakura while pointing to a slip of paper hanging on the wall.

The trio gathered around it and begun reading.

"If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open both Heaven and Earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe paths. This is the secret of genesis, the fruits of Nindo. It shall lead the way," read Sakura.

"Ookay, and that means?" asked Naruto with a frown.

"Well, if I had to guess. I think it's telling us to open the scrolls here," replied Sakura.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a try," said Naruto nervously.

Kabuto's warning about the sleep inducing Jutsu was still fresh in all of their minds. Naruto handed Sakura the Earth scroll as if it were a stick of dynamite. All three of them swallowed as both Naruto and Sakura peeled the seal away from the parchment's edge. They then slowly begun to open the scroll. The moment of truth had finally arrived…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo Minna! It's Aninene the Legendary Fox! These last two weeks have been busy busy busy! I know what you're thinking. "Where have you been, Aninene?" Truthfully, my mind became overwhelmed with another Fanfic idea. So, because I couldn't turn part of my brain off and stay focused on this one, I've written the first six chapters of that fic. Don't look forward to it yet though, I'm not posting it until I've finished at least ten chapters.

Okay, now this one was fun to write. The most stone cold anime villain of them all is finally here! Orochimaru :) You wouldn't think it was possible for this guy to become any more evil, but that changes in this fic. His first evil deed will be, making it harder for Naruto to use his speed for long periods of time. Muwahahaha. (Ahem) Moving on, what is your opinion on the alternate personality living within Sasuke? It just seemed so right to put that in there. Too many late nights watching scary movies I guess. Okay, to the reviews!

Echizen Ryoma-san: I know, it terrible that I'm doing just that at the moment. But it still isn't ready to go AU just yet. If I had to make a rough estimate of how close I am to being able to completely alter the Cannon with my current elements I would say 89 percent. But I'll tell you guys now when the AU will start. In just two more chapters!! That's right, after this next one the Cannon will practically be gone until the tournament starts. Then no more Cannon, Yahoo!! So please, just bear with me for one last chapter. :)

Sonic Man 3: You may just be right as far as the plot goes, but keep in mind that there's no need to insult me. I'm not mad or anything like that, you're young after all. But remember, we writers only want to hear your opinion about our work so we'll know where to improve. Insults have nothing to do with the fic, so don't submit them. Remember that whenever you submit a review to anyone.

shadow patronus: I'm glad you like my writing style. One of the iron rules of story writing is that a writer must capture and maintain the interest of the reader. I haven't did that for you and for that I'm very sorry. If you ever decide to give any future fics I write a try, I'll do my best to make it enjoyable from start to finish.

Sa'Kaite: I see what you mean. After looking over some of the chapters, I did find some minor but confusing errors in the fic. I'll have a word with Lola about that. And yes, it was probably a bad idea to go Cannon on a story that I can't alter smoothly without putting crucial Elements in first. The slow and steady method doesn't seem to be working too well this time around, so I'll work harder on that. Ah, you're an action man/woman, in that case you may fall in love with my super fight scene. It will occur next chapter!! Hang on to your hat, it'll be a real piece of work :)

shikamaru the nerd: I have to give you a round of applauds. You are one of three reviewers that submit frequently. Very nice :) Okay I feel for you about the way that Naruto seems so weak at first. Mr. Kishimoto did the lovable hero extreme injustice, but he also has a lot of strengths that no other ninja could ever have. I'll be elaborating on that as the fic continues. The clan itself, will definitely be revealed shortly. As a bit of insight on them, most of the children trained in the clan are already on Chuunin level. A typical teenager would be as strong as a Jounin. And adults, such as Sagitario are stronger than most ANBU and in some cases the Sannins themselves. I won't say anymore, but you'll soon find out exactly why the Dragon Clan is ranked among the most elite in all of Konoha. Look forward to it :)

Disclaimer time! (Hears groans and complaints)

I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original elements and characters remain my own. All others are properties of Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto.

Lastly, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Plus Rank

Naruto - C Rank while tapping into the Kyuubi's power

Naruto - D Rank after having his chakra sealed by Orochimaru with a Focus Gauge of 40/100

Sakura - D Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using her Limit Break against the Sound Genin

Sasuke - D Plus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using his Limit Break against Orochimaru.

Sasuke - C Minus Rank using Sharingan.

Sasuke - C Plus Rank when corrupted by the Cursed Seal into becoming Devil Sasuke.

Ame Team - D Minus Rank

Anko - B Minus Rank

Orochimaru - A Plus Rank

Dosu - C Rank

Zaku - C Minus Rank

Kin - D Plus Rank

Lee - C Rank

Shikamaru - D Rank

Ino - D Rank

Chouji - D Rank

Kabuto - C Rank with skills supressed

See you next chapter. I'm slightly over the author note limit due to the reviews. Keep them coming please!


	10. World Wide Ninja Challenge! part 3

**World Wide Ninja Challenge!**

**The Tournament of Awakening!**

Naruto and Sakura slowly opened the scrolls. They frowned upon finding nothing except a ring of text that looked very familiar.

"A summoning seal?" questioned Sasuke.

The scrolls then begun to smoke as if it were burning. Naruto and Sakura quickly dropped them. The moment they hit the ground, they erupted into one big cloud of smoke. Everyone tensed in preparation for another fight. When the cloud finally did clear, the trio were stunned speechless to find…

"Iruka-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto, haven regained the power of speech.

"Long time no see, guys!" greeted Iruka with a smile. "You look like you've went through a lot of trouble."

"What's going on, Iruka-sensei? Why did you appear through a summoning technique?" asked Sakura, who was still a bit surprised by Iruka's odd method of arrival.

"Well, selected Chuunins are suppose to welcome you guys to the tower. Our task is to pass you a message from Hokage-sama and then unlock one of the doors behind me," he explained. "Since the examinees arrival is random, we use summoning scrolls to transport here quickly. You guys only just made it in time. Congratulations, you pass!"

Sakura and Naruto grinned at each other. Sasuke coolly smirked as expected from him.

"I would treat you guys to ramen, but it'll have to wait until later. For now…" begun Iruka.

"Um, Sensei, what would've happened if we had opened the scrolls outside of the tower?" interrupted Sakura.

Iruka scratched his chin and chuckled.

"Well, since your reliability was being tested, if you had broke the rules we Chuunin were ordered to knock you out," he explained.

Naruto and Sakura sweat dropped with paler looking faces.

"_Thank you, Kabuto-san!_" thought Naruto with Sakura's exact thoughts.

Sasuke smirked knowingly at them.

"Aren't you glad that you didn't open the scroll now?" teased the Uchiha.

Naruto and Sakura chuckled nervously. Sakura then pointed to the slip of paper on the wall.

"Iruka-sensei, what does the text on that paper mean?" she asked.

"Oh that? It's a principal that Hokage-sama wrote himself. You would all do well to remember it. Basically Heaven refers to one's state of mind while Earth refers to one's strength. The phrase if you do not have Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared concerns you, Naruto."

"Me?" echoed Naruto.

"Yeah. Although your body is certainly strong, you lack knowledge. A sign that you should study more and prepare for your missions," teased Iruka.

Sakura giggled while Naruto frowned in annoyance.

"The other phrase, if you do not have Earth, run in the fields and gain strength concerns you, Sakura."

Sakura's giggling ceased and gave way to an embarrassed flush while Naruto grinned at her. This was going to be good.

"Basically you are quite learned in the way of the ninja, but you lack strength. A sign that you need to practice your skills more."

Sakura stuck her tongue out in embarrassment.

"As for the last phrase, if you have both Heaven and Earth than dangerous paths will become safe concerns you, Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged carelessly, those things came naturally to him after all. It was common sense stuff, really.

"The five day survival mission you guys took part in was just a test of your basic Chuunin abilities. A Chuunin is expected to be able to lead a team. Thus it is important that you inscribe in your hearts the importance of having both knowledge and strength during missions. Never forget that, it could very well save the lives of your comrades during a mission."

"Yes sir!" chorused the group with salutes.

Iruka returned the salute before forming a seal. With that, the seal on one of the doors dispelled. It slowly opened a crack.

"Good luck, Team Seven!" said Iruka before stepping aside.

With that said, the trio approached the doors to their destiny…

* * *

One inside the spacious room, Naruto and company were graced with the sight of twenty-one other examinees lined up in front of Sarutobi, the Jounin teachers of each team, several examiners, as well as Ibiki and Anko. The room was bare except for a giant Buddha statue that was sitting cross legged with its' hands in a simple chakra molding position. A hand railed walkway made up the upper landing. Naruto and the others quickly lined up. Once they had done so, Anko begun to speak.

"First off, congratulations on completing the second exam. Since time is officially up, only you eight teams out of a possible fourteen will be taking part in the next exam. Hokage-sama will now give an official explanation of the third exam," announced Anko before nodding to Sarutobi.

The Third nodded back and took a step forward with his arms behind his back. He quickly cleared his throat and begun to speak.

"Before we start the third exam, I want to make one thing clear to you," Sarutobi paused to look into everyone's eyes. "It concerns the true nature of this exam. Are any of you aware of why we are taking this Chuunin exam together with allied nations?"

Although Kabuto and the twelve rookies knew the answer, nobody spoke.

"To those who believe its' purpose is to build friendly ties between our neighboring countries, this is a lie," declared the Third. "The exam, so to speak, is the epitome of the wars that occur between our countries."

A murmur sounded amongst the examinees.

"What do you mean?" asked Tenten.

Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe.

"Well, if we go back in time for a moment, the allied countries have staged wars with each other over land and power many times. So to avoid wasting military power, we now settles our disputes twice a year with the Chuunin exam. This method is used to judge which countries have become too powerful, so that adjustments can be made as necessary," he replied.

"But why do we have to do this? Shouldn't we stop fighting each other?" asked Naruto, never one to find diplomacy easy to comprehend. "And what about becoming Chuunins?"

"Relax, you will be judged during the exam to see if you're worthy of becoming Chuunin," reassured the Third. "I'm just letting you know now, that you will also be fighting as representatives of your country's dignity. This is most important since the Feudal Lords and famous figures from around the world shall be attending this event as guests. Thus, your abilities will be showcased to the world."

He paused to let this sink in before continuing.

"The strongest country seen in this exam shall be flooded with jobs. While the countries seen as weak will have fewer jobs. Do not disgrace the country you are representing, it will impact all of you greatly in the long run."

"If that's the case, then why do we have to put our lives on the line during the exam?" asked Kiba.

All of the elder ninjas grew serious.

"A country's power, is the village's power. Likewise a village's power is its' ninja's power. A ninja's true potential can only be realized during life or death situations. This results in balance, the most important principal of strong Shinobi. That is the reason for this," replied Sarutobi.

"I don't really care, just tell us the details of this little game," demanded Gaara quietly.

"Very well…" the Third was just about to speak when another ninja appeared out of thin air.

He kneeled before Sarutobi.

"Pardon me, Hokage-sama. I, Gekkou Hayate, hence known as the judge, shall explain the proceedings," said Hayate quietly.

Sarutobi nodded.

"Please do," he consented before stepping back into line with the other adults.

Hayate stood up and faced the examinees to reveal a sickly looking face with tired black eyes. He had a navy blue bandana wrapped around his dark brown hair. He was dressed in the common ninja apparel of Kakashi and the other Jounin.

"Pleased to meet you all. Before we begin…" he coughed. "I'll need you to fight in some preliminary matches to determine who shall advance to the main battles."

"What are you talking about? Why do we have to fight in preliminary matches?" demanded Shikamaru.

"The third exam will be done likened to that of a martial arts tournament. However, whether it was because the first two exams were too easy is beyond me. But there are simply too many examinees left. So, according to Chuunin exam regulations, we have to reduce the number of participants," explained Hayate.

A murmur of complains and disbelieving outbursts sounded amongst the testers. Hayate silenced them by clearing his throat.

"There is a reason for this," he coughed again. "Ahem, as Hokage-sama mentioned, there will be a lot of guests attending the final exam. Because of that, we cannot have a lot of matches in one sitting. Time is pressing so I'll explain how the preliminaries will work now. If anyone doesn't wish to participate after the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary battles will start immediately after that."

"Immediately!? But we just got through the second exam!" reminded Domino. "Most of us are bordering on exhaustion!"

"She's right! Damn, this is troublesome," grumbled Shikamaru.

"It cannot be helped. We simply don't have time to let you guys rest right now. Just try to bear with it," reasoned Hayate with a cough. "But since you all seem so uncertain about the situation you will be facing, take a few minutes now to decide if you want to participate or not."

Hayate then went to converse with the other adults while the teams talked amongst themselves…

* * *

"_There's no way that I'm quitting,_" thought Sasuke while Naruto and Sakura were talking.

Almost unconsciously, he grasped the Cursed Seal. The pain had subsided a bit since he had almost submitted to that thing. But he could still feel it, sleeping in the darkest corner of his mind. Sasuke was just considering trying to talk to it when Sakura interrupted his musings.

"Sasuke-kun, you should withdraw from the matches," suggested Sakura worriedly.

"What?! Why, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto in surprise.

Sakura ignored him.

"Sasuke-kun, you've been acting different ever since Orochimaru beat you. That mark he gave you hurts right?" she asked.

Sasuke glared at the ground.

"Mark?" echoed Naruto.

Again Sakura ignored him.

"Please stop, Sasuke-kun," tears touched the corners of her eyes. "I'm afraid. I don't want you to change again."

Sasuke had to admit, Sakura had a knack for making one regret things. She just looked so vulnerable and judging by the solemn look on Naruto's face, he felt the same way. The mark suddenly begun to burn more painfully causing Sasuke to wince.

"_Damn it!_" he hissed within his mind.

It was waking up…

"Just as I thought," murmured Sarutobi.

He and the other adults had been carefully observing the exchange between Sakura and her teammates. They didn't look thrilled.

"What should we do, Hokage-sama?" asked Ibiki while staring at Sasuke.

"I say we take him out of the exam and isolate him with ANBU units," suggested Anko.

"Don't bother. He's not the type to listen to that kind of advice so easily," waved aside Kakashi with a knowing smile. "It's his nature as an Uchiha."

Anko glared at Kakashi.

"Don't be a fool! There's no telling how much influence that thing has over him already! If I have to, I'll make him quit by force!" declared Anko with steadily increasing volume. "The Cursed Seal reacts whenever he tries to mold chakra. It during those times that he is most vulnerable to that thing's will!"

"Hey hey, Anko-san. Getting upset about it won't help the situation. I don't mind keeping an eye on the boy with my ANBU team, but if it's alright with you I'd like to observe him just a little bit longer," said Sagitario while twirling a lock of his hair absently.

"Are you mad!? That's a forbidden technique we're talking about! It amazing that he can even stand it!" snapped Anko before glaring at Sasuke. "Anyone else would've died by now."

"What do you think of this, Hokage-sama?" asked Kurenai.

The Third took a drag on his pipe.

"We'll watch his performance for now. If the seal reacts negatively during the battle…" he glanced at Sagitario.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand," responded the ANBU captain with a nod.

Anko tsked in irritation and glared jealously at Sasuke once more. Hayate then moved back in front of the crowd…

* * *

"Okay, you've all had plenty of time to decide. Now is the time to let me know if you will continue with the exam," stated Hayate while withdrawing a clipboard with the examinee's information attached to it.

Sakura took this opportunity to desperately hissed in Sasuke's ear.

"You're in no condition to fight right now, Sasuke-kun!"

"Shut up, Sakura!" Sasuke hissed back.

"I knew it! You've been in pain all this time!"

"Sakura, be quiet," Sasuke was getting annoyed now.

"No! I don't care what you say! I'm telling the examiner about that bruise!" threatened Sakura while raising her hand.

Naruto and Sasuke gasped in alarm and froze when they heard Hayate speak.

"Yes? You there," he said with a slight cough.

Everyone turn to who he acknowledged to find Kabuto's hand in the air.

"I'll be quitting," announced the gray haired ninja with a smile.

For the longest, everyone just stared at him. Then Hayate begun flipping through some pages on his clipboard.

"Let's see, Konohagakure no Yakushi Kabuto eh? You're dismissed then," said Hayate once he found Kabuto's data page.

"Right," said Kabuto while turning to leave.

"Hang on! Kabuto-san, why are you quitting?!" asked a baffled Naruto.

Kabuto faced Naruto with a surprised expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. But my body is completely worn out now. That's not all, ever since that scuffle with those Sound guys I haven't been able to hear very well out of my left ear. There's no way that I'll be able to fight again right away," he explained.

Naruto's gaze dropped sadly to the floor. Kabuto saw this and tried to cheer him up with a smile.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I'll make it next year for sure, but it would sure be nice to have a Chuunin like you for a friend!" said Kabuto cheerily.

This had the desired effect and the blond perked up a little. With that said, Kabuto waved his farewell to Sakura and Sasuke before striding out of the room. He smiled the whole time. With Kabuto gone, the remaining examinees turned to face Hayate, who was staring at them expectantly. Thirty seconds passed and nobody else had raised their hands.

"I'm assuming that nobody else wishes to quit?" asked Hayate with a cough.

Nobody said anything, though Sakura did look like she was going through an emotional struggle. The pink haired girl seemed to have made up her mind and attempted to raise her hand again. As quick as lightening, Sasuke seized her wrist and glared into Sakura's eyes.

"Keep quiet about this bruise," he hissed angrily.

Sakura begun crying.

"Why are you trying to act tough? I don't want you to suffer anymore!" she whispered between hiccups.

"It doesn't concern you, Sakura!" growled the Uchiha before letting her wrist go. "I already told you that I'm an avenger. For me this isn't just some damn exam! I don't care about being a Chuunin either. Right now, this is the only place were I can truly find out if I am strong. I'm going to fight the strong guys here and I won't allow you to stop me. Got it?!"

Sakura's gaze dropped to the floor.

"You jerk! Can't you see that Sakura-chan is worried about you? You're one heartless son of a…"

"Naruto," interrupted Sasuke with a smirk. "You're the one I want to fight the most."

Naruto was stunned speechless. Sasuke was actually acknowledging him as a true rival!

"Since nobody else is going to quit lets move on. For the remainder of the exam, there will only be one on one matches. This includes the preliminary battles," begun Hayate at that moment with the explanation. "There will not be a time limit, you may fight as long as necessary. Since we have twenty-three people here, we will have twelve matches. One of you will have to fight twice. The win lost decision is determined by the following. Death, knock out, or surrenders. If you do not wish to die, surrender when you have an opportunity. If I, the judge, determine that the match has been won however. I may stop you to prevent unnecessary death," he then turned to Anko.

With a nod, she said something into a radio device that had been concealed by her hair. A loud mechanical whirring sounded and a section of the wall next to the Buddha statue slid aside. A giant television monitor slid forward from the new hole in the wall. Hayate cleared his throat.

"This monitor will randomly select and display the names of two fighters before each match. We shall now begin the pairings for the first match."

The screen came to life and the versus abbreviation appeared in the center. The area above and below that then begun displaying names at an extremely fast pace. Soon, the names begun to slow down until it stopped completely.

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akadou Yoroi

Sasuke smirked.

"Right off the bat eh? Perfect."

Sasuke stared excitedly at Yoroi, who was chuckling with his own giddy excitement.

"The opening match shall start with Uchiha Sasuke and Akadou Yoroi. Will those whose names were pulled step forth," ordered Hayate.

Sasuke and Yoroi did so and faced each other.

"Good, are there any objections to this match?" Hayate asked them.

"None!" replied the battle ready fighters.

"Then we shall now begin. Will everyone else head to the upper level please?" requested Hayate.

Everyone did as asked, with the exception of Kakashi. He approached Sasuke and lowered his head to his ear.

"Don't use your Sharingan," he muttered.

Sasuke smirked.

"You already know about it then?" he asked.

"Yeah, if that Cursed Seal on your neck becomes uncontrollable, you may die. Be warned, if you try to use your Sharingan I will stop this match. Good luck, Sasuke-kun," said Kakashi while calmly striding away.

Sasuke watch his back for a moment before returning to his musings.

"_So my guess was right. This seal reacts to my chakra,_" his hand shot to the seal again. "_The pain and that voice always seem to get stronger when I try to mold chakra. If that's the case, then I'm limited to nothing but non chakra enhanced Taijutsu. It'll have to do,_" he smiled confidently.

Hayate glanced back and forth between them before raising his hands into the air.

"Begin!"

* * *

Yoroi immediately formed a seal.

"Kyuin no Jutsu!" he cried.

Sasuke tensed.

"_Kyuin? An absorption technique?_"

Yoroi's hands begun glowing with an aura of blue chakra. The purple wearing ninja then hurled a swarm of shuriken at Sasuke like a quick draw specialist. Sasuke only just managed to draw a kunai and deflect the flying stars back at him. Yoroi avoided them with a high jump. Sasuke's seal gave way to a violent throb of pain at that moment.

"_**Submit to me.**_"

The Uchiha swore under his breath at the poor timing. He ignored the voice and quickly lunged aside just before the sunglasses wearing ninja could hit. His fist smacked the ground causing him to hiss in pain. Angrily, he shifted his gaze to the Uchiha. Sasuke quickly kicked Yoroi's legs from under him causing the older ninja to lose his balance. Sasuke then pulled a Domino and used his legs to paralyze Yoroi from the neck, via a chokehold.

"Got cha!" cried the Uchiha victoriously.

Oddly enough, Yoroi laughed. He then had the hand that Sasuke was holding onto press firmly against the Uchiha's chest. It immediately became engulfed in chakra again. Sasuke started feeling sick at that moment, as if his strength were being sucked out of his body. Almost effortlessly, Yoroi pulled his arm free of Sasuke's grasp. The older ninja then slammed his elbow into Sasuke's guts. The Uchiha cried out in pain. His legs loosened enough for Yoroi to escape the chokehold. The older ninja quickly hopped out of retaliation range to safety.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried a worried Sakura from somewhere on the upper level.

Yoroi charged. Sasuke sensed his approach and quickly jerked upright into a sitting position with the intent of sweeping his foe's legs again. He was too late though, Yoroi's chakra covered hand seized hold of Sasuke's head like a basketball. Sasuke cried out in agony as his strength started draining from his body again. The Cursed Seal's burn soon became unbearable.

"_**Let me help you.**_"

"M-my…chakra…" moaned Sasuke weakly.

Yoroi laughed.

"You've just noticed eh? This is my special ability. Using my palm I can suck all the chakra you have right out of your body. It's quite tasty!" he teased.

"Get…off of me!" Sasuke roared before kicking Yoroi in the stomach.

The older ninja's breath left him and he went sailing back a few feet. He stumbled a bit but managed to catch his balance easily enough. He laughed as Sasuke weakly struggled to his feet.

"Oh, you still have some fight left eh? Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

His hands radiated with chakra again and he charged. Once in range, Yoroi thrust his hand towards Sasuke's head. The Uchiha dodged it easily enough. Yoroi reversed his error into a swipe that Sasuke quickly ducked under. They did this again and again until finally Yoroi managed to brush a strain of Sasuke's hair. It was only for a second, but the sickness and draining effect was instant. Sasuke staggered forward on wobbly legs.

"_Damn it!_" cursed Sasuke weakly, he could barely stand.

"_**I need you to accept me now.**_"

The burning grew worst.

"What's wrong, running out of gas already?" taunted Yoroi.

With a growl, Sasuke spun into a powerful but sluggish roundhouse kick. Yoroi easily hopped out of the way of the sneak attack. The elder ninja laughed at Sasuke's pitiful Taijutsu skills. Things were not going well for the Uchiha.

"What the hell are you doing, Sasuke!?" shouted Naruto. "You won't even warm me up fighting like that! Pull yourself together, dummy!"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto in annoyance, but it was the person standing next to him that caught is eye. Rock Lee was staring into the Uchiha's eyes almost as if he were silently cheering him on. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"_I've got it!_"

Since Sasuke had his back turned, Yoroi took advantage of that moment to charge.

"Pay attention, you fool!" he cried triumphantly.

Sasuke quickly whipped around in time to avoid an arm thrust. Yoroi followed up with several sumo style arm thrusts in a row. Sasuke dodge at least eighteen of these before inexpertly ducking at the last second. Yoroi's nineteenth thrust pulled his weight directly over Sasuke. With a smirk, Sasuke pulled a Rock Lee and kicked Yoroi in the chin hard enough for his feet to leave the ground. The Uchiha boosted off and begun landing kick after kick into his stomach causing him to raise higher and higher into the air. He then vanished in a flash of high speed and reappeared behind Yoroi.

Rock Lee and Gai gave startled sputters. Sasuke was using the opening combination for their sinister move! Even the others were stunned speechless.

"The rest is all original," whispered Sasuke into Yoroi's ear. "You lose."

Sasuke pressed his finger tips to Yoroi's back.

"_Voice, if you can hear me, lend me your power!_" pleaded Sasuke with his eyes closed.

"_**It shall be done. I grant you the power that is Devil.**_"

Sasuke gasped before coughing up a mouthful of blood. The burning of the Cursed Seal intensified until it spread throughout his whole body. His eyes snapped open with the cold glare of the beast that lived within. But the transformation seemed different somehow. Instead of being forced into a state of deep sleep, Sasuke's own mind remained active.

"_**This is my gift to you. Perhaps now you will embrace me more willingly.**_"

Sasuke smirked, his own smirk that remained unaltered by Devil. The markings then vanished completely as Devil withdrew back into his mind. The dark being had replenished Sasuke's chakra levels! With his own normal strength restored, Sasuke fueled his muscles with chakra and lashed out with a brutal kick aimed at Yoroi's side. The older ninja blocked it with his forearm but still winced at the strength behind it.

"I don't know how you got this much power back boy, but it's not good enough!" cried Yoroi.

Sasuke twirled into a quick spin. Yoroi never saw it coming when the Uchiha smashed his knuckles into his masked face. Yoroi cried out in pain as he sailed back towards the ground. Sasuke quickly slammed a haymaker into the stunned ninja's chin, speeding up his fall. Sasuke then vanished in a flash of speed again and reappeared with his foot in motion. He smashed it into Yoroi's stomach just as the older ninja hit the ground.

"Shishi Rendan!" cried Sasuke over the scream of Yoroi.

Yoroi coughed up a large mouthful of blood even through his mask. His body then went limp. Sasuke hit his back painfully onto the ground from the overall force of his own Lion Combo attack. He laid there, completely stunned. Hayate took this opportunity to examine Yoroi. As it turned out, the older ninja was completely out cold. Hayate turned around to find Sasuke tiredly climbing back to his feet. Hayate cleared his throat.

"The match ends here. Winner, Uchiha Sasuke."

The Konoha Genin erupted into loud cheers.

"Way to go, Sasuke!" praised Naruto.

Sasuke smiled before tiredly falling over. He landed into the left arm of Kakashi. The gray haired Jounin was reading Flirting Paradise in his right hand.

"Good work, Sasuke," he muttered absently while turning a page with his thumb.

The Uchiha's gaze shifted to Lee.

"_Rock Lee was it? Thanks to you, I was able to win that fight. If I hadn't see your technique before, I might have lost. I also owe you my gratitude voice. If you hadn't restored part of my strength, I would never have been able to use Lee's technique,_" thought Sasuke.

The voice didn't respond but there was no doubt that it had heard him. At that moment, a team of standby medics entered the room. They had Yoroi placed on a stretcher and lead away for medical treatment. One of them approached Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, we will give you the best medical treatment that we possibly can," he offered.

"Don't worry about it, I will take care of him," shot down Kakashi before kneeling next to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I'm going to seal that Cursed Seal in the back room."

"Can't it wait until after the preliminaries? Besides, I don't want it sealed!" argued Sasuke.

Kakashi's eye narrowed dangerously.

"_I feared that something like this would happen. That thing has a hold on him,_" mused Kakashi darkly. "I cannot permit that, Sasuke. If we don't seal it, something irreversible may happen to you. I won't listen to your selfish request twice, now come on."

Reluctantly Sasuke climbed to his feet and followed Kakashi out of the room. The others watched this with intrigued expressions. Naruto turned towards Sakura once they left the room.

"Ano sa Sakura-chan, did you see a weird mark on Sasuke's body during the battle? That wasn't the mark you were talking about earlier was it?" asked Naruto.

As much as Sakura wanted to tell Naruto, she had promised Sasuke that she wouldn't. Her eyes lowered to the floor.

"I don't know, Naruto," lied Sakura.

Naruto sensed Sakura dishonesty, but didn't comment on it. Everyone returned their attention to Hayate.

"We will now begin the next match. If you'll please turn your attention to the monitor."

Like before the names begun speeding by. They slowed down until only two were displayed.

Harime Elaine vs. Tenten

"Alright! It finally your turn!" gushed Domino excitedly to her chuckling best friend.

"Show everyone what you can do," encouraged Genmaru with a warm smile.

Elaine nodded with a determined smile.

"Yeah, I'll do my best!" vowed Elaine.

She turned towards the approaching sound of footsteps.

"Elaine!" called Sakura cheerfully, her worries about Sasuke momentarily forgotten. "Good luck, I know you'll do really well!" gushed the pink haired girl.

Elaine smiled and put her hand behind her head in embarrassment.

"Thanks a lot Sakura, I sure hope so!" replied the blue haired girl while sticking out her tongue happily.

The only one more excited than Elaine, with the exception of maybe Domino, was Naruto. He was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Oh boy, this is going to be great! I'll be rooting for you all the way, Elaine!" declared Naruto.

"Really? Thank you very much, Naruto!" said Elaine in grateful pleasure.

Sagitario approached them at that moment.

"Excellent, Elaine-san. Please do your best, I want to brag all about my students after these preliminary matches are over. Perhaps afterwards we can have dinner together eh?" offered the green haired Jounin with a warm yet beautiful smile.

"Um, no thanks Sagitario-sensei!" replied Elaine with a sweat drop.

"You're at it again, Sensei?" accused Domino with an annoyed frown. "I should've known that it was too good to be true!"

Sagitario laughed.

"It was just a joke! I'd never try to date my own student," lied Sagitario with a sweat drop.

Domino's glare made him shift his gaze to Naruto and Sakura, who didn't quite know how to react. He smiled warmly at them.

"Ah, you two are Kakashi's yes? He speaks very highly of you guys. It's an honor to meet you," he said before taking Sakura's hand and kissing it.

The pink haired girl blushed while Naruto frowned. He didn't like the guy already. Sagitario sensed Naruto's thoughts and smiled at him.

"Iruka-sensei tells me you like Ichiraku Ramen. If you like, I'll be happy to treat you sometimes. I'm very interest in hearing all about you, Naruto-kun. Genmaru says that you have a lot of potential."

Naruto grinned at the mention of ramen. As far as he was concerned, anyone who would treat him to his absolute favorite meal couldn't be that bad. His childhood crush on Sakura ended where his ramen began.

"Well, we don't want to keep everyone waiting. Elaine, I seriously wish you the best of luck during your fight. Be careful, okay?" requested Sagitario with a wave over his shoulders as he headed towards Anko and Kurenai, his intentions very clear.

"Yes sir, Sagitario-sensei!" replied Elaine before making her way to the battle area where Tenten was already waiting.

Everyone turned to watch the match.

"Go, Tenten! Use your youth power!" cheered Lee.

"Believe in your power, Tenten! You're in the springtime of your youth!" cried Gai

"We're with you, Tenten! Fight with everything you have!" came Lee again.

"Yosh! That's the way! Show us your fighting sprit!" went Gai.

Neji smirked.

"This should be interesting," he murmured.

Tenten chuckled with a sweat drop. Hayate then spoke.

"We will now start the second match. Harime Elaine will face Tenten. Do either of you object?" he asked.

"No!" replied the girls with excited smiles.

"Then we shall start the second match now," Hayate raised his hand into the air. "Begin!"

* * *

Tenten immediately leaped back a few feet. Elaine dropped into a combat stance and waited. The girls begun scanning each other's stances for any openings or weaknesses in them.

"_Tenten is good,_" observed Elaine. "_She put enough distance between us to easily shift from offense to defense in an instant. She doesn't show much of a weakness in her guard either. Gai-sensei trained her well_."

The girls observed each other like this for nearly a minute before Elaine allowed a weakness to show in her stance on purpose. Just as the blue haired girl hoped, Tenten took the bait and high jumped into the air to hurl a swarm of shuriken at her. With the greatest of ease, Elaine caught the seven stars on her fingers via a Kakashi.

"What!?" cried Tenten in dismay.

With a confident smile, Elaine charged at Tenten's landing point while she was still in midair. The moment Tenten landed, she was in for a pounding. Tenten touched down and immediately tried to throw a punch at Elaine. The blue haired girl unexpectedly dove into a forward flip and landed a double stomp into Tenten's chest. The pink shirted girl landed with a cry on her back. She immediately rolled aside to avoid getting pelted by her own shuriken that Elaine had hurled after her. Tenten kicked up back onto her feet and boosted off towards Elaine with a Kenpou style palm thrust. Elaine knocked Tenten's arm aside and spun into a heavy backlash kick.

Tenten performed a triple back flip to safety. Elaine then assumed the Hakuda style battle stance while Tenten reassumed her Kenpou style stance. They had entered a stalemate.

"Yeah! Elaine, you can do it!" cheered Naruto.

"You're amazing, Elaine!" praised Sakura.

"Go go go!" chanted Domino while punching the air with every chant.

"Tenten! You're looking good down there! Give it your all!" cheered Lee.

"Yosh! This is the power of youth! Right, Lee?" said Gai with teary eyes.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two embraced and begun crying. Everyone sweat dropped. Even Elaine and Tenten giggled at the cuteness of the awesome relationship Lee and Gai shared. Just like father and son, sort of. Everyone then turned their attention back to the battle at hand.

Tenten dashed forward and swung her leg in a beheading sidekick which Elaine ducked under. Tenten used the added modem of her missed attack to drop into a low power thrust . This blow caused Elaine to stagger a bit, giving Tenten time to aim a more focused thrust towards Elaine's chest. This resulted in the blue haired girl losing her balance completely. Elaine rolled into the fall and boosted off with her hands back onto her feet. She then dove aside to avoid Tenten's follow up kunai wave. Elaine withdrew a pair of kunai in both hands and charged.

Tenten smirked and produced a scroll from her pouch. She took to the air just as Elaine got in range for a swipe with her knife.

"Take this!" cried Tenten before performing an array of aerobic flips in midair while opening the scroll.

Tenten then begun to spin in place while her scroll twirled gracefully around her. She spun faster and faster until she appeared as nothing more than a blur. A whole assortment of weapons then begun raining towards Elaine. Some of them were swords, others were maces, even staffs and the common Senbon and other ninja gear rained down.

With a hiss, Elaine started running around in an effort to avoid the projectiles. At some point, she found her back pressed against a wall. She tried to deflect as many as she could with her kunai but a few still managed to score shallow cuts on her arms and legs. Elaine gasped for breath when the wave finally came to an end. Tenten touched down a few feet away and glared at Elaine, who for the most part was unharmed.

"_She's good, she deflected and avoided the worse of my attack. I may have to use it after all,_" thought Tenten nervously.

Tenten cried out in alarm when a kunai sailed pass and scored a cut on her cheek. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, that Elaine had been able to attack her with her guard down. The blue haired girl was rushing towards Tenten. She quickly threw her other kunai at the pink shirted girl. Tenten caught the knife easily enough, but this allowed Elaine time enough to close the gap and land a knee blow into her chin. Tenten cried out in pain before she felt her legs get swept from under her. The weapons master caught her self with her hands and attempted to sweep Elaine's legs. But the blue haired girl performed a quick somersault to safety. Tenten quickly leaped back a few feet and produced a pair of scrolls from her pouch.

"This is it!" she cried.

Lee and Gai gave startled starts.

"No way! Is she going to use it now?!" exclaimed Lee.

"Use what, what's she going to do with those scrolls?" asked Naruto curiously.

Lee looked sadly at him.

"She may end up killing your friend, Naruto-kun," replied Lee quietly.

Everyone gave starts and Naruto grasped the hand rails so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Be careful, Elaine!" warned Sakura.

Tenten kneeled and carefully balanced both scrolls until they stood upright. Elaine tensed as Tenten begun forming seals. Once done, Tenten crossed her arms in front of herself.

"Shoshouryu!" cried the weapons master.

There was flash of light from both scrolls before an explosion rang out, creating a big cloud of smoke. Elaine shielded her eyes until the fog passed. When she looked up again, two serpents made out of smoke rose into the air and intertwined in a dance of some sort. They formed a tunnel before transforming back into Tenten's scrolls. In a flash, Tenten vanished and reappeared in the center of the two scrolls. She then begun summoning and hurling weapons at Elaine in a nonstop barrage.

"_Shoot!_" thought Elaine before diving for a nearby spear that was laying on the ground from Tenten's first attack.

Elaine expertly begun twirling the halberd about herself and deflecting the projectiles. This time, much to everyone's surprise, none of the weapons got through Elaine's defense. It wasn't until eight minutes later before Tenten ran out of weapons. The blue haired girl shank to her knees and leaned on the battered staff to catch her breath. Tenten landed nearby and stared at Elaine with disbelieving eyes. It quickly turned into an angry glare.

"I'm not done yet!" she declared before taking to the air again. "Take this!"

Tenten waved her hands as she flipped through the air. Elaine had to admit, Tenten looked as elegant and beautiful as swan during this new plan of hers. Thin thread of chakra then appeared leading from Tenten's fingers to her weapons. Tenten yanked back her hand causing all of the weapons, including the staff that Elaine wisely let go of, to fly into the air. With a smile, Tenten shot her hands towards Elaine causing the projectiles to fly towards her once more. Elaine quickly flashed through some hand seals and smashed her fist into her palm. She then pressed her hands to the ground causing the summoning seal to appear around her.

"Suiton, Suijinheki!" cried Elaine.

The Third gave a start.

"_The Water Wall!? That's his technique!_" he realized.

A huge torrent of pure water rose up out of the ground. The water circled around Elaine before shooting straight up into the air. The blue haired girl was being shielded by a funnel of water! Tenten gave a startled cry as all of her weapons were swept into the rapidly revolving wall of water. They were quickly fired back at Tenten like a hail of bullets. She screamed in pain as they cut into her at least three hundred times. One for every weapon she had summoned. Tenten landed with a grunt on her back as Elaine's technique came to an end. The raising water begun slowly raining down on everything in a light drizzle.

"Tenten!" cried Lee, Gai and Neji in alarm.

Both Elaine and Tenten slowly rose to their feet. Tenten grasped her left arm and winched. Elaine's expression turned sad for a moment.

"I'm sorry about this, Tenten. I don't really want to hurt you," she apologized.

Tenten didn't say anything to that, but her just manageable smile told her that she understood. With that, Tenten faced the judge.

"I'll quit," she said.

Everyone gave a start of surprise, even Elaine was stunned by Tenten's statement. Hayate gave Tenten a quick once over and stared hard into her eyes for a moment before nodding. His raise rose into the air.

"Winner, Harime Elaine," Hayate announced.

Elaine immediately rushed to Tenten's side.

"Why did you do that, Tenten? I know that you could've kept going if you wanted to," asked Elaine.

Tenten shook her head in the negative and smiled.

"I was never a match for you to begin with, Elaine. During the fight, you were holding back the entire time right?" asked Tenten.

Elaine sweat dropped and put her hand behind her head guiltily. She chuckled nervously in the tell tale sign that Tenten's guess had been correct.

"I'm sorry," apologized Elaine.

Tenten shrugged it off.

"There will be other opportunities for me to become a Chuunin. I'm just glad that I made it this far," she said. "Don't lose to anyone else okay?"

"Yeah! Okay," promised Elaine with a smile.

With that, Elaine helped Tenten back to the upper landing. Everyone except for the Sand and Sound Ninjas surrounded them.

"Tenten! You fought magnificently!" cried Lee with teary eyes. "I have been moved to do my best as well!"

"Yosh! This is the spring time of youth! A new rival has appeared for you, Tenten!" joined in Gai.

Tenten laughed with a sweat drop.

"You did okay. Well done, Tenten," said Neji quietly while glaring away, never really being the social type.

"Thanks, guys!" said a grateful Tenten. "I'll have to train harder for next time."

Everyone else gave Tenten their praise as well. Domino then hugged her best friend.

"You did it! I knew you would!" she said proudly.

"Once this is over, remind me to prepare something extra special for you to celebrate," said Genmaru.

Domino caught the meaning and cheered.

"Awesome! Could you bake strawberry cupcakes this time?" she begged.

Everyone sweat dropped. Domino's weakness was pretty obvious now.

"Um, thanks Genmaru," said Elaine gratefully. "Best let Domino have her way though," she joked with a laugh.

Everyone joined in until Hayate drew their attention by clearing his throat.

"We will now start the third match. Pleased turn your attention to the monitor."

The names sped by until two were displayed.

Abumi Zaku vs. Aburame Shino

Zaku smirked.

"Heh, who's the other weakling?" he joked.

Shino stared at Zaku with furrowed brows. A sign that he was glaring at him.

"Come forth fighters," ordered Hayate.

Shino and Zaku did so. The bug tamer raised an eyebrow at the sight of the slings Zaku's arms were in.

"We will now begin, are there any objections?"

"None!" they said in unison.

Hayate then raised his hands.

"Begin!"

* * *

As promised, Kakashi escorted Sasuke to a sheltered room below the combat area. Kakashi withdrew a small bag of powder from his pouch. Wordlessly, he spread the content on the floor in the shape of three rings. Each ring orbited the next. Kakashi then firmly grounded several kunai into selected parts of the rings. Once done, he turned towards Sasuke.

"Take off your shirt and sit in the center of the barrier," he instructed.

Sasuke did so with a frown, he was debating whether to try and convince his Sensei to let him keep the seal unaltered. But he knew from the warning look in Kakashi's eye that that just wasn't going to happen. Silently he straightened his back in preparation for whatever Kakashi had planned.

With a nod of approval, Kakashi then withdrew a vial with the Dragon Clan's crest on it. The content of the glass container was pure dragon blood. It was an extremely rare elixter with enough properties in it to, in essence, strengthen the effect of most Jutsu requiring blood offerings. Kakashi dipped his index and middle fingers into the liquid and begun writing Japanese characters around the site of Sasuke's Cursed Seal. Once done, Kakashi formed several hand seals.

"Fuja Hoin!"

With that, Kakashi pressed his palm to Sasuke's Cursed Seal. The dragon blood begun to glow, then a huge wave of force radiated around the duo. This was the barrier cornering the Cursed Seal's power source. Sasuke screamed in pain as the Cursed Seal's burning jumped to extreme levels. The blood then begun to move of it's own accord until it formed a ring of text around the seal. Sasuke felt the burning give way to a numbness that was as cold as ice. All of his chakra, as well as the presence of the voice, left him. His body craved nothing but rest as this draining took place, but Kakashi started speaking.

"The Evil Sealing Method, is an advanced sealing Jutsu that is dependant upon your will to maintain it. Fueled with the added strength of dragon blood, the Cursed Seal will never be able to trigger again. However, if your will should ever waver, the seal will consume you in all of its' fury. If that happens, you may no longer be you," warned Kakashi.

With that, the blissful sanctuary of sleep claimed Sasuke. Kakashi warily stood to his full height and reached out to the Cursed Seal with his senses. A void of nothingness confirmed that it had been properly sealed away. Kakashi sighed in relief.

"My my, you've certainly grown, Kakashi. Who would've thought that you would become strong enough to perform that seal. And with dragon blood no less, impressive," came a hoarse voice directly behind the gray haired ninja.

Kakashi spun around to find Orochimaru staring at him with that sadist smile on his face. The snake tamer begun to radiate with a cold aura of purple chakra.

"You!" hissed Kakashi coldly.

"Long time no see, Kakashi," smirked the snake tamer.

"How did you get in here?" demanded Kakashi while reaching for his kunai pouch.

"Don't bother, I'm not here to fight. I just wanted to see the boy for a moment," said Orochimaru. "As for your question, let's just say that security isn't very good around here, Kakashi. Or should I say Sharingan no Kakashi."

The gray haired ninja stiffened.

"Yes, I'm aware of the Sharingan in your left eye. A gift from old Obito no doubt. Did you find the added chakra helpful for your seal?" he teased causing Kakashi's eye to narrow. "How I long to have the power of an Uchiha for myself. Sasuke-kun will be sure to deliver."

"Don't kid yourself Orochimaru, Sasuke will never team up with scum like you!" said Kakashi darkly.

"I wouldn't say that, Kakashi," contradicted Orochimaru. "I am the one who created that seal. Sasuke-kun won't forget the power it offered him. I think the rest of what I'm going to say is obvious eh?"

"Still the same as always. You never did do anything for others without making them pay a price first," muttered Kakashi while slowly grasping right arm. "That's why I'm going to stop you."

"Oh really?" drawled Orochimaru while advancing towards him.

Kakashi's palm filled with a sphere of chakra that begun to give off electrical discharges. The loud chirping of birds filled the room. Orochimaru paused to admire the light show.

"Take one more step and I swear. One of us will die here!" shouted Kakashi.

Much to Kakashi's irritation, Orochimaru laughed.

"You poor fool. Do you really think that you can shield him from what he desires?" he taunted. "We both know that he will do anything it takes to get stronger. After all, his big brother did take away his family."

"Get out!" bellowed Kakashi.

"Very well, I can wait a little longer. At some point, he will come to me for power," he said while turning around. "If you truly want to stop him, then you should kill me while my back is turned, Kakashi. Try, if you dare."

Kakashi never moved and his chakra sphere faded from sight. This man wasn't someone he wanted to mess with. With a frustrated grunt, he watched Orochimaru walk away into the shadows. Even now, he could feel his body trembling in fear. With a sigh, he picked up Sasuke's sleeping form and prepared to carry him to the hospital…

* * *

The two fighters glared at each other in classic stand off. Zaku's legs were bent and ready for evasive maneuvers. Shino stood tall as usual with his hands in his pocket.

"This is a warning. If you fight me as you are, you will not be able to fight again," declared Shino emotionlessly. "Surrender."

Zaku grinned.

"Don't kid yourself. I can still move my left hand! That'll be more than enough to defeat you!" shot down Zaku while removing said hand from its' sling.

He then charged and threw a wild left hook. Shino didn't even flinch when he blocked it with one arm. His right hand was still in his pocket.

"You won't be able to defeat me with one arm," stated Shino calmly.

"Shut up and fight! Zankuha!" cried Zaku angrily.

His fist, that was still held in place by Shino's arm, snapped open and released a blast of pressurized air. The gust easily blew Shino off of his feet. He rolled several times on the ground and came to a stop face down. Zaku grinned.

"Had enough already?" he taunted.

Shino quietly rose to his full height. He then brushed a bit of dust off of his shoulders before staring at Zaku. Much to the human windbag's shock, bugs begun scurrying out of Shino's collar and sleeves.

"What the hell, man!? That's freaking creepy!" shuttered Zaku before tensing.

Zaku sensed a bunch of energy sources behind him. He turned around to find an army of bugs crawling towards him! He begun to tremble in revulsion, bugs were so not his thing.

"They're a rare specie of parasitic insects call Kikaichuu bugs. They consume the chakra of those they come in contact with in less than a minute. Since you are their target, they will attempt to devour your chakra. Even if you fight back, you won't be able to defeat two opponents at once. This is your last chance. Forfeit," droned Shino.

Zaku growled. He was caught in a sandwich with no way out. Zaku's eyes seemed to grow crazed with both rage and fear. He screamed while thrusting his palm towards Shino. The bug master didn't seem fazed in the least.

"I'm not going to lose to you!" roared Zaku angrily.

With a cry of pain, Zaku thrust his other hand towards the bug army. His dislocated arms had regained mobility! Everyone gasped in surprised while Shino frowned, things were not going as planned after all.

"Zankukyokuha!" cried Zaku.

At first nothing happened at all. Then, in an explosion of air pressure and chakra, Zaku's arms exploded! Zaku screamed in agony. His right arm had gotten completely blown off to the point were flesh was raining to the ground. A spray of blood gushed from his severed limb while his hole covered left arm hung limply by his side. Zaku managed to flip his palm upwards with teary eyes to find a bunch of bugs crawling out of the hole in his palm. His air releasing device had been clogged!

Zaku managed one last glare at Shino's calm face before his consciousness left him. Hayate immediately moved to examine Zaku's body. After a moment he shook his head, this match was over.

"Winner, Aburame Shino," he announced.

Nobody cheered due to the gruesomeness of the end results. It wasn't everyday that one got to see someone's arm explode. Shino wordlessly returned to the upper level. The medical team had Zaku placed on a stretcher and carried away for emergency treatment.

"Whoa, that was intense," said Domino seriously for once.

The other Genins nodded in agreement or at least had the decency to look solemn. Lee seemed especially surprised.

"How did he do that?" he whispered.

Neji wordlessly activated his Byakugan. His vein covered eyes x-rayed Shino's body. He gasped after a moment.

"Impossible! Those things are living inside of him!" he reported.

"There's a reason for that," said Gai. "Since birth, children of the Aburame clan are exposed to those insects. Their bodies serve as a nest for them to reside in, and they consume the host's chakra. But as a result, the host gets full control over them and can use them to fight in battle."

Everyone nodded in understanding. It seemed that there was more ways to fight than any of them could possibly imagine. Naruto begun to tremble in excitement.

"I can't wait for my turn! This is getting pretty cool!" he excitedly rambled.

"Congratulations, Shino-kun," said Hinata quietly.

"Yeah, nice one bro!" added Kiba.

Shino stared at the dog tamer.

"Hopefully you will do the same," he said coolly drawing an annoyed grumble from Kiba.

"_Cocky bastard!_" he thought.

Hayate silenced them with a cough.

"Let's move on to the next match shall we. If you'll turn your attention to the monitor."

Everyone was just about to do so when a poof of smoke appeared on the battle site. Kakashi emerged from it.

"Hey guys," he greeted.

"What do you mean 'hey guys?' Where's Sasuke-kun? Is he alright?" demanded Sakura.

"Sasuke is fine. He's resting in the hospital right now. He just used up a lot of chakra that's all," replied Kakashi.

Sakura sighed in relief. With one less worry on her mind, she and everyone else glanced at the names displayed on the monitor.

Kankuro vs. Tsurugi Misumi

Both fighters grinned confidently and strode to the ring before Hayate could beckon them. Everyone knew the routine by now so Hayate cleared his throat.

"The next match shall be Tsurugi Misumi against Kankuro. Are there any objections?"

"None!" replied both fighters.

"Okay then," Hayate raised his hand. "Begin!"

* * *

"I hope you're ready for this, kid," begun Misumi with the trash talking. "I'll try to make this short and painless."

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing," said Kankuro smugly while relieving his back of the body he carried. "But I can't promise that it'll be painless."

Misumi charged. He attempted a side hammer punch once in range but Kankuro stopped it with his arm. Misumi smiled.

"Nan no Kaizo," he murmured.

Kankuro gasped in alarm as Misumi's body elongated and snaked around Kankuro's. The startled Sand grunted while trying to free himself. The rubber band man's head appeared near his ear on an impossibly long neck.

"Holy crap! He's just like that snake freak!" exclaimed Naruto.

"What do you think of my Soft Physique Modification technique?" taunted Misumi. "With it, I can take my joints off their hinges and loosen my body with chakra. Now that I've caught you, I'm going to strangle you until your bones break. But you can save yourself now, all you have to do is give up."

"No way!" hissed Kankuro thru clenched teeth.

Misumi's eyes narrowed.

"You may want to reconsider that decision. As you are now, you won't be able to use any techniques or tools. Last chance, give up or I break your neck," threatened Misumi.

"Go to hell!" spat Kankuro.

"Fool! Die!" cried Misumi before giving his arms a yank.

A sickening crack rang out throughout the room. Kankuro's broken neck hung limply towards the ground. Everyone tried not to winch as the sound echoed in their minds. Misumi's eyes smiled in satisfaction.

"Too bad, you should've quit when you had the chance," he murmured.

Oddly enough, bits of Kankuro's face crumbled away. His head then spun completely around like a freaky owl. The spot were the skin was missing revealed a grinning wooden thing with beady black eyes.

"My turn!" said the creature in an alien voice.

"What the!?" cried Misumi.

The things face and clothes completely fell away and the creature wrapped Misumi up, with super long arms, into a bear hug. Misumi cried out in pain as the thing's grip tightened. He then tried to get a good look at it.

The creature was a marionette made out of strong lignum wood. The arms appeared to be crafted from bamboo though. It had a head full of wild brown hair that added to the wraith like look gained from his ragged cloak. It had three crazy eyes and a nutcracker type jaw. This was Karasu.

Misumi's gaze shifted to the bundle that the thing had been carrying. A hand popped out of it and gave a yank on one of the wrapping. It fell away to reveal Kankuro! With a smirk, he held up his left hand. Several chakra threads were attached to his fingers.

"Y-you're a p-puppeteer!?" gasped Misumi with what little breath he could draw.

"That's right!" responded Kankuro before clenching his chakra covered hand into a fist.

Karasu's tightened his grip to the point where Misumi was certain that his back would break.

"Ahh, mercy! I-I-I gi-give up!" he managed after his arms started breaking.

"Heh, lucky you," commented Kankuro with a smirk before unclenching his fist.

Karasu let go of Misumi and let him drop to the floor. The purple clad ninja begun whimpering in pain. Hayate raised his hand.

"Winner, Kankuro," announced the judge.

Naruto immediately begun complaining.

"Hey two on one isn't fair! Is that thing even allowed in here?!" protested Naruto with a frown.

"There's nothing unfair about it, it's just a doll. No more than a mere tool," explained Kakashi.

Naruto didn't look pleased about it, but he stopped complaining all the same. Everyone watched the medical squad carry Misumi away for treatment. Once this had been done, Hayate faced everyone.

"We shall now take a short intermission. Please use this time to freshen up and use the bathroom. We resume in five minutes," announced Hayate before exiting the room.

"See ya!" said Naruto promptly while dashing off to the bathroom.

Genmaru, Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kankuro followed suit, although less enthusiastically. Sakura bowed her excuse and took off for the ladies room. Ino watched her for a moment before following after her. The others split up into their own private groups. Only Elaine, Domino, Tenten, Kiba, Shino and Hinata mingled.

"This tournament is something else! The battles so far have been really swell!" said Tenten.

"Yeah, most of the other fighters are pretty strong. Your match was spectacular, Shino!" agreed Elaine.

"It was nothing. My opponent was in no condition to fight. His defeat was inevitable," droned Shino.

"Um, I feel bad for everyone who got hurt so far. I hope they'll be okay," voiced Hinata quietly.

"Don't worry so much, Hinata! The examiners did say that we were fighting life or death battles you know. Personally I can't wait til our turn comes, right Akamaru?" said Kiba with a grin.

The pup yipped in agreement.

"Demo…" begun Hinata with lowered eyes.

Domino approached the shy girl and tilted her head up with a finger to her chin. Hinata blushed as she gazed into her eyes for a moment. Domino then smiled.

"You're really cute you know. You shouldn't look down so much, Hinata. It's hard for others to admire you," chided Domino.

Hinata blushed even more deeply. It wasn't very often that someone told her she was cute.

"I'm sorry Domino-san, I'll try to look up more," promised the Hyuuga quietly.

"Don't be so formal! Just call me Domino," requested the lavender eyed girl with a teasing smile.

"Um, okay…Domino," she stopped herself just as she was about to add the san to the end of her name.

Satisfied Domino turned around and started stretching.

"Man, I can't wait until my turn comes up! I want to kick some butt!" she said with a laugh.

"Don't we all!" joked Elaine. "Let's all do our best when we fight, okay?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I don't have a problem with it. Just don't cry when I whoop you!" taunted Kiba.

Akamaru barked a "That's right!"

By this point, the others started coming back from the rest room. Sakura in particular seemed extra determined about something. Only Ino had yet to come back yet. Hayate entered the room at that moment and coughed.

"We will now resume. Please turn your attention to the monitor," he requested.

The usual random selection occurred until two names were displayed.

Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino

Sakura gasped in surprise. She heard a similar sound behind her. Everyone turned towards it to find Ino, just arriving from the bathroom. The two rivals then glared determinedly at each other. Without saying a word, both of them made their way to the battle area.

"Whoo! Go, Sakura-chan!" cheered Naruto.

"Do your best!" added Domino and Elaine.

Shikamaru and Chouji groaned.

"Why those two of all the combinations?" grumbled Shikamaru. "This is so troublesome."

Hayate then spoke.

"The next match shall be between Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. Are there any objections?"

"None!" replied both girls.

"Very well then. Fifth match, begin!"

* * *

"I didn't think that I would be fighting you so soon, Sakura. Don't hold back okay?" asked Ino.

Sakura didn't seem to hear her. It was almost as if her mind was somewhere far away. She snapped out of it quickly though and glared determinedly at Ino. Best of friends turned rivals, the girls charged.

Sakura speedily zigzagged left and right to throw off Ino's intuition and lashed out with a snap kick. Ino ducked it and entered a tai chi style stance. Her fist shot forward in retaliation. Sakura knocked the punch aside and ducked for a sweep. Ino hopped over it and immediately ducked under Sakura's follow up kick. The blonde bombshell leaped back to put some distance between them.

Sakura quickly hurled a pair of kunai after her like a quicksilver. Ino snagged one in midair and hurled it at the other one, knocking them both aside. Sakura charged and attempted a jump kick. Ino sidestepped it and hopped out of range of Sakura's follow up backhand. Sakura threw a jab that Ino blocked and quickly retaliated with her own. Sakura likewise blocked it. The two then tried using high kicks at the same time. Their legs collided, canceling out that move.

Sakura immediately threw a feral punch at Ino's head. Ino ducked it and threw a triple punch combination at Sakura's face. Sakura blocked the first two, but Ino faked the last one and drove her fist into Sakura's diaphragm instead. The pink haired girl gasped as a spray of spit flew from her mouth. Ino took advantage of her opening to throw a power punch at Sakura's face but something made her hesitate. She instead just bitch slapped her.

Everyone was stunned speechless at the sight. Ino was even more so and she gazed sadly at her trembling hand. Sakura just stared at her, wide eyed. It quickly turned to a look of determination.

"Ino, I can't thank you enough for the friendship we once shared. I'm sorry that we ended it over Sasuke-kun. But now that it's come to this I have no intention of fighting you over him right now," said Sakura. "You should know that I'm stronger than you."

"What was that!? Do you realize who you're talking to, you crybaby!?" cried Ino furiously.

Wordlessly, Sakura untied her forehead protector. Ino lowered her eyes to the ground until they were hidden in shadows. After a moment she smiled and withdrew her own forehead protector from her pouch.

"I understand now, Sakura. I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize it," apologized Ino quietly.

In unison, both girls tied their forehead protectors to their foreheads. They then looked each other in the eye with the knowledge that they were true equals.

"_Just as we swore upon these forehead protectors. With our full powers, lets have a fair fight!_" they thought as one.

Both girls charged. Once in range, they both threw power punches. Their fists collided with enough force to make the very air ripple. The resulting shockwave forced them both in a skid away from each other. Once they both came to a stop, they assumed battled ready stances. They only admired each other's pose for a few seconds before charging again. Sakura formed seals as she went.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

One Sakura then became three via a replication technique. Ino stopped in her tracks and carefully begun looking for clues to the identity of the real Sakura. Sakura suddenly sped up on chakra fueled legs, startling Ino out of her observation. She tensed expectantly when the first Sakura spun into an overhead kick. It vanished before the blow landed, obviously a clone. However the distraction it offered caused her to lose track of the other Sakuras. The one in front of her vanished when the real Sakura punched through it to score a sledgehammer blow to her face. Ino hit the ground hard and rolled a few times.

"Stop playing around Ino, or else you're going to get hurt!" warned Sakura while the blonde struggled to her feet.

Ino wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth with a smirk.

"That was a lucky shot and you know it!" shot back Ino in amusement.

The girls then rushed each other and lunged with straight arm punches. They caught each other's fists with their free hands respectively, resulting in a stalemate. They pushed against each other for a moment before breaking the lock. As one they withdrew and hurled shuriken at each other. The flying stars collided and deflected each other harmlessly aside. Once the girls skidded to a halt, they boosted off towards each other and hit each other in the chin at the same time. The force of their punches made each fly back to land painfully on their backs.

Everyone's eyes was on them now, the shockwaves from their blows had been strong enough for them to feel it even from the upper level. These girls were giving it everything they had and more. Tiredly they climbed to their feet.

"There's no way you're as strong as me, Sakura! I refuse to believe it!" cried Ino heatedly.

Sakura giggled.

"Funny. There's no way that a slovenly person like you is my equal. As much time as you spend on your hair and appearance, you may as well work in a geisha house," quipped Sakura.

Ino growled as her vision became red. She withdrew a kunai from her pouch.

"What do you know!? Stop underestimating me!" shrieked Ino.

Sakura tensed as Ino raised the knife in front of herself. Then the oddest sight of all befell her. Ino had cut through her own ponytail! Everyone gasped in shock.

"What do you think of me now, damn it!?" she screamed before throwing her hair to the ground.

The others sweat dropped while Sakura laughed at the sight of the now less cute Ino.

"What a fool. That isn't going to make you any stronger, Pig," teased Sakura.

"Shut up! I'm going to make you lose, Sakura!" shouted Ino while forming a seal.

A glint appeared in Sakura's eye.

"The Mind Transfer technique eh? You do realize what'll happen if you miss, right?" asked the pink haired girl.

Ino knew only too well the flaw in her technique. The range of the technique was limited to whatever was directly in front of her. She also knew that it was slow to kick in and that if Sakura dodged it, her body would become a punching bag for her rival. Ino glared at Sakura.

"So what!? You won't know what'll happen until I try!" snapped Ino.

"Alright. Your funeral, Pig," said Sakura with a smile.

"Ninpou…"

Sakura begun running.

"Shin Ten Shin no Jutsu!"

Sakura abruptly came to a halt after the incantation. Ino herself sank to her knees. Everyone tensed.

"Did the technique work?" whispered Elaine with everyone's thoughts.

Sakura or Ino, begun to laugh.

"Nice try…Pig."

Everyone exhaled the breath they had been holding. Sakura was still in control of her body.

"Alright, Sakura!" cheered Domino.

"Darn, she screwed up!" grumbled Shikamaru.

Sakura smiled and begun to advance towards Ino's body. She stepped on Ino's hair…

"What the!? I can't move!" cried Sakura in alarm.

Sakura glanced at her feet to find a threads of chakra wrapped around her ankles. They appeared to be strains of Ino's hair.

"You're mine now, Sakura!" cried Ino suddenly while jerking her head up to stare smugly at her foe.

"Did you…?"

"That's right, hun. I only pretended to use the technique to lure you onto my hair. By adding my chakra to it, it became a strong strain of living rope if you will," taunted Ino. "Get ready, once I enter your body and make you say 'I give up,' I'll win! This time, I won't miss!"

"Oh no! Sakura!" cried Elaine.

"Hurry and run away, Sakura-chan!" added Naruto.

At the prompt of her friends, Sakura begun to struggle. It was no use though, her legs weren't going to carry her anywhere.

"Game over! Ninpou, Shin Ten Shin no Jutsu!" cried Ino.

Ino slumped over and Sakura's struggling ceased. A shadow passed over Sakura's eyes as Ino invaded her body. It wasn't long before Sakura's mind was forced into a state of semi-consciousness. The pink haired girl then felt her mouth curl into a smile that most definitely wasn't her own. She tried to fight, but Ino's hold on the body was too strong. Sakura felt her arm rise into the air.

"I, Haruno Sakura, sur…"

"Don't do it, Sakura-chan!" screamed Naruto. "You've come too far to let Ino beat you like this!"

Everyone begun looking back and forth between the possessed Sakura and Naruto. Ino smiled cruelly at the blond.

"You're wasting your breath trying to tell me that now. This fight is…"

"_Get out!_" screamed Sakura's consciousness.

"What the!?"

The body begun to tremble in a tug of war between the two battling wills. Sakura was fighting her!

"I'll never let you win, Ino!" screamed Sakura with momentary control over her body. "Get out of my head!"

"Sakura! Give up already!" came Ino after regaining control.

"Get out!" came Sakura again.

Hayate slowly back away from Sakura/Ino as if she had gone mental.

"You can do it, Sakura!" cheered Elaine.

"Yeah, stomp her good!" encouraged Domino.

Sakura's body gave a violent jerk before becoming enveloped in an aura of green chakra.

"GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!" the aura expanded until everyone had to shield their eyes from its' brightness.

When the flare ended, Ino was back in her own body struggling to climb to her feet. Both she and Sakura were breathing hard, but Ino was the first to speak.

"How is this possible? You have a barrier around your mind! I couldn't completely force you to sleep!" gasped Ino.

"I have the strength to match my beauty. We girls need such things if we're to survive, right?" replied Sakura just as breathlessly.

With grins, both girls stood up to continue the match.

"Yeah! Sakura, you rock!" cheered Domino excitedly.

She, Elaine, Naruto, Lee and Genmaru all begun giving various cheers in favor of Sakura. The sparring girls rushed each other. They reared back their right arms and each fueled their fists with what remaining chakra they had left. Their blows connected squarely into each other's cheeks and drew both spit and blood from each. They once more sailed backwards onto their backs. This time, neither of them got back up again. Hayate examined both warriors before raising both of his hands.

"Neither are able to continue. This match is a double K.O!" announced the judge.

With that said, both Kakashi and Asuma when to retrieve their battered students. The two Jounins smiled at each other in a congratulatory manner. The girls had fought well. They carried them both to the upper landing and gently set them down next to each other. Lee, Naruto, Elaine, Domino, Genmaru, Shikamaru and Chouji all gathered around them worriedly. They all wanted to ask them if they were okay, but Kakashi shushed them.

"Let them rest," he ordered quietly. "They'll wake up soon. None of their wounds are serious."

Everyone sighed in relief. This had been a battle to remember. The formerly unreliable Sakura and the loud mouth Ino had given new meaning to the term, kunoichi. Hayate then drew everyone's attention to the monitor as usual. The randomization process, did the usual stuff until two names were displayed.

Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin

"This is such a drag," grumbled Shikamaru. "_Why do I have to fight a girl? On top of that, I don't know what kind of techniques she'll use. She didn't exactly do very much during that fight in the forest_."

With a sigh Shikamaru went to the battle area. The Sound placed a hand on her hip and sneered once he arrived.

"I'll make this quick," promised Kin.

Hayate then did the usual procedure.

"Nara Shikamaru shall fight Tsuchi Kin. Are they any objections?"

Shikamaru had a whole lot of objections that he wanted to voice, but he keep quiet about them anyway.

"None," said both fighters.

"Good. Sixth match begin!"

* * *

Shikamaru formed the ram seal.

"Tsk, is that trick the only thing you know?" complained Kin with a frown.

"Shut up! Who asked you anyway!?" snapped Shikamaru. "Ninpou, Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Kin rolled her eyes as Shikamaru's shadow slowly advanced.

"I've seen this trick before you know. As long as I'm moving, you'll never catch me with it!" declared Kin.

She leaped away from Shikamaru's shadow and hurled a pair of Senbon at the lazy ninja. Shikamaru ducked under them and frowned when they started jingling. He turned towards the needles, which had embedded themselves in the far wall, to find bells attached to them. Shikamaru smirked.

"That's a lame trick. Let me guess, you're going to throw another pair of needles shortly. One with a bell and another without one. This way, I'll react to the sound of the bell and avoid that one but the needle without the bell will catch me off guard and hit right?" betokened Shikamaru. "I won't fall for that!"

Kin smiled and withdrew a second pair of needles that didn't have bells.

"You really do talk too much!" she said while hurling them at Shikamaru.

The lazy ninja easily avoided them. He frowned when he heard the jingle of bells behind him.

"_What the, those didn't have bells,_" he thought while looking behind him.

The two needles from before were the source of the jingling. Shikamaru then noticed a thin thread of nearly invisible wire attached to the bells. Shikamaru's eyes widened, it was a distraction!

"Too late!" cried Kin as he started turning back around.

Shikamaru took a pair of needles directly to the arm. With a cry, he stumbled backwards and fell onto his butt. By this point, both Sakura and Ino had woken up.

"Shikamaru!" cried Ino in alarm upon seeing him downed.

Naruto and the others were relieved to see them up an about again. They all managed a few words of acknowledgement, but the lure of the fight was just too much of an attention grabber. They spread out a bit so that Sakura and Ino could watch it as well. Shikamaru had climbed back to his feet while grumbling the whole time.

"Stupid bells, but at least I didn't take a critical hit," he muttered while removing the needles from his skin. "You'll pay for that!"

"As if I'll really let you do anything!" shot back Kin while pulling on the thread attached to the bells again.

They begun jingling again, but there was something different about it. Shikamaru begun to grow dizzy and his vision was distorting. His legs refused to support his weight and he dropped to his knees.

"What did you do to me!?" demanded Shikamaru heatedly.

Kin laughed.

"Surprised? Everyone who listens to my bells become like that," teased Kin. "This is a special bell that uses vibrations to influence the eardrum and brain. It will then trigger a Genjutsu image."

Sure enough, Shikamaru begun seeing doubles of Kin. He quickly tried to cover his ears and shake away the illusion.

"Don't bother. You can't shut out my bells that easily!" declared Kin.

Shikamaru looked up to find eighteen Kins smirking at him. He growled.

"Damn, which one is the real one?" he muttered to himself.

All of the Kins begun speaking in unison.

"What's wrong? You don't know where to send your little shadow?" they taunted while withdrawing more needles. "Let's find out what you'll look like as a human hedgehog!"

Shikamaru shielded his face just as Kin hurled them at him. His arms throbbed with sharp pain as the needles pierced them.

"Damn wench!" yelled Shikamaru angrily. "You said that you would end this quickly!"

The Kins smiled.

"Oh yeah, I did. Very well, since the pain seems so unbearable to you," they withdrew more needles. "This is the end."

Kin reared back her needle arm. Kin paused with a gasp.

"My body!?" she cried.

Shikamaru grinned as all of the Kins became one again.

"Shadow Imitation is a success!" he announced.

"Impossible! Your shadow is nowhere near mine!" disbelievingly uttered Kin while looking about.

"What a fool. You still haven't noticed?" asked Shikamaru.

Kin's eyes widened in shock.

"You didn't?!"

"Yeah, that's right. I stretched my shadow and made it look like it came from your string," explained Shikamaru. "If you had any kind of brains at all, you would know that a string held at that height could never cast a shadow."

He lifted his right arm making Kin follow suit.

"Not bad smart guy, but how are you going to win now? We're just moving the same way," reminded Kin with a victorious smile.

"Shut up and watch," snapped Shikamaru.

He withdrew a shuriken from his pouch and Kin did the same. Her eyes grew wide.

"Are you crazy!? You'll end up hurting yourself too!" cried Kin.

"Think I don't know that?" shot back Shikamaru while rearing back his arm, Kin did the same. "Let's see who can take the most pain!"

They both then hurled the stars at each other. Everyone tensed in anticipation. Shikamaru shrugged before jerking his head back as hard as he could to avoid the flying star. Kin smiled as her body did the same.

"Hah, I knew you were just bluff…ack!" she cried out as her head smashed into the wall behind her.

Kin's eyes glazed over and she slumped to the floor, completely out cold. Shikamaru made her knock herself out! Shikamaru laughed.

"Idiot! A true Shinobi should be wary out the landscape during battle! We may move the same, but you were much closer to the wall than I was!" he declared, not that Kin was listening anymore.

Hayate signaled the medics before raising his hand.

"Winner, Nara Shikamaru," he announced.

"Way to go, Shikamaru!" cheered Ino.

"You're cool!" cried Chouji.

"Great fight!" added Sakura.

Naruto frowned.

"It wasn't all that much, but it was kind of cool," muttered Naruto, he was more of an action man after all.

The others offered their praise as Shikamaru returned to the upper level. He slapped Chouji a lazy high five and nodded his thanks to everyone for their kind words. Hayate then had them look at the monitor again. It did the usual stuff until…

Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba

Naruto erupted into deafening cries.

"At last! It's my turn! YEAH!"

"Do your best, Naruto!" cheered Sakura.

"_Finally, a chance to see just how far along you've gotten,_" thought Genmaru with a warm smile in Naruto's direction.

"Show us some action!" cried Domino excitedly.

"Good luck, Naruto! I'll root for you all the way!" said Elaine with her best smile.

"Leave it to me!" declared Naruto while flexing his muscles. He then grinned excitedly.

Kiba's toothy grin lit up his own face.

"Hell yeah! We'll whoop him for sure right, Akamaru?!" said the dog tamer confidently.

The pooch yipped a positive response while flashing a dog grin.

"Um, do your best, Kiba-kun," encouraged Hinata quietly.

"Try not to embarrass yourself," said Shino.

Whether that was meant as a joke or an insult was at a lost for Kiba. He didn't think too much of it though. With a careless wave over his shoulder, Kiba headed down to the battle area to meet Naruto. Once both fighters were ready, Hayate begun the official announcement.

"The seventh match shall now begin. Uzumaki Naruto will face off against Inuzuka Kiba. Do either fighter have any objections?"

"None!" replied the duo without hesitating.

Hayate nodded to both warriors before raising his hand.

"Preliminary match number seven, commence!"

* * *

"Finally! I'm tired of all that waiting!" cried Naruto excitedly. "Prepare yourself, dog boy! I'm going to show off some of my really cool moves!"

Kiba snorted.

"Don't get so cocky, Naruto! The fact that you've matched up with me means that I've already won this!" declared Kiba while rubbing his nose. "Right, Akamaru?"

The pup yipped in agreement. Naruto felt a vein throb in his temple.

"Why you…keep dreaming! You don't stand a chance against me!" cried Naruto while pointing at Kiba.

"Heh, we'll see about that, dork," quipped Kiba while unzipping his jacket.

Akamaru leaped out and stood proudly next to his master. This only annoyed Naruto even more.

"Hey dog brain, don't bring puppies in here! He's going to interfere with the match!" argued Naruto.

"You really are an idiot! Akamaru is going to fight too!" shot down Kiba.

Akamaru barked in a manner as if to say "That's right!" The dog growled at Naruto, who paled before turning to Hayate.

"Ano sa, that's illegal isn't it?" asked the blond with a frown.

"No, bugs and animals are treated as weapons. It isn't a problem," replied Hayate.

Naruto's face fell, but he quickly perked up again.

"Fine, it's just another handicap. I'm still going to win!" proclaimed the blond.

"Don't act so tough! Just for that…" Kiba glanced at Akamaru. "Don't do anything okay? I'll take care of this twit myself."

The dog whined as if to say "Are you sure?" Kiba just grinned at him.

"Don't worry Akamaru, it won't take more than a few minutes!" reassured the dog tamer while glaring at Naruto. "I'll beat him in one hit out of pity."

"Sure, whatever. Let's see if you can even touch me," taunted Naruto with a smile.

"Quit acting tough!" snapped Kiba once more while kneeling and forming a seal. "Gijyuu Ninpou, Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

The effect of Kiba's Beast Mimicry Technique wasn't unlike that of Naruto's Kyuubi transformations. An aura of blue chakra surrounded Kiba and he crouched on all fours. His finger and toenails elongated and his naturally sharp teeth became even more deadly. But the biggest change was in Kiba's speed. The dog tamer became a blur as he dashed forward to score a elbow into Naruto's stomach before he could even react.

Naruto's was winded as he landed painfully on his back. He didn't move save to suck in air. Kiba narrowed his eyes as if daring the blond to get up again. He growled when Naruto did just that.

"Yo Kiba…don't underestimate me!" warned Naruto with a savage grin.

The dog tamer begun to tremble in both fear and fury.

"Yeah! Get him, Naruto!" cheered Sakura.

Lee, Genmaru, Domino and Elaine all begun cheering for the blond as well. This only served to make Kiba madder.

"Damn it! I said to stop acting tough! You're bleeding, you fool!" roared Kiba.

It was true, a thin trickle of blood was leaking from the corner of Naruto's mouth. He didn't seem fazed by it though.

"Better worry about yourself. I let you hit me that time just to see how strong you were. I'm not impressed," revealed Naruto. "Maybe you'll make me break a sweat if you use your little dog!"

Kiba clenched his fist at his side.

"You're going to regret those words!" threatened Kiba. "Let's go, Akamaru!"

The white pup yipped eager for a chance to fight. Both he and Kiba then rushed the blond. Along the way, Kiba withdrew some smoke bombs from his pocket. He tossed them at Naruto's feet, resulting in a big veil of pepper. Naruto held his breath and glanced warily about for his dog loving foe. An unseen punch to the cheek caused the blond to stagger. He then felt several more punches strike his stomach, back and face.

"_Damn it! I am not going to get beaten up by a cheap trick!_" vowed the blond before blindly dashing forward.

Naruto cleared the smoke only to be pounced on by Akamaru. The startled blond staggered backwards into the smoke from the force of Akamaru's tackle. Kiba scored several more blows before finally leaping out of the clearing smoke veil. He grinned upon spotting Naruto laying face down and Akamaru sitting next to him, wagging his tail.

"Yeah! We got him good! Great work, Akamaru!" cheered Kiba while holding his arms out to embrace his pooch.

Akamaru rushed towards Kiba happily, but oddly enough he bit Kiba's arm. The dog tamer winched in pain and stared at his pup sadly.

"Akamaru…why?" he murmured.

The dog then gave a very familiar grin.

"You fell for it!" crackled Akamaru before going up in smoke.

It cleared to reveal Naruto with his teeth latched onto Kiba's jacket. Kiba was besides himself with fury.

"You bastard! Get the hell off of me!" he roared.

Naruto was only too happy to oblige. He started spitting in revulsion.

"Goddamn, man! You even taste like a dog!" complained Naruto.

Kiba didn't have much interest in Naruto's joke. He begun frantically looking around for Akamaru.

"What the hell did you do with Akamaru!?" demanded Kiba after a moment of searching.

Naruto produced the mutt from behind him and held it up by its' forelegs.

"You mean this guy?" teased the blond with a laugh.

The other Naruto that was laying behind him sat up and laughed as well. The blond prankster had used the Shadow Replication technique! Akamaru whined causing Kiba to growl angrily.

"Let him go or I swear!" threatened Kiba.

Both Narutos shrugged.

"I already told you, you can't beat me," they said in unison.

"Yeah! That's the way, Naruto!" cheered Domino, Sakura and Elaine.

"Was he always this smart?" asked Ino in awe. "He's easily going head to head with Kiba!"

"Who would've thought that he could use his techniques so well, and with such perfect timing!" agreed Chouji.

"He's a lot better than I expected," added Shikamaru.

"_Very well done, Naruto. You may just be ready for him yet,_" thought Genmaru proudly.

Kiba closed his eyes and breathed for a moment to calm himself. He then stared at the blond with a smile in place. Wordlessly he reached into his pouch and produced a tiny black sphere. With a flick of his thumb, the ball sailed into Akamaru's mouth. The dog quickly swallowed it. Immediately, Akamaru begun to convulse violently. The dog's fur became wild and spiky, but the eye candy was the color change in his fur from white to blood red. With a tiger like roar, Akamaru kicked his captor with his hind legs hard enough to destroy the clone. Akamaru returned to Kiba's side and growled at the real Naruto, who was stunned speechless.

"What the hell did you feed him!?" demanded Naruto with wide eyes.

"It's called a soldier pill, moron!" snapped Kiba before eating one himself.

Kiba's aura spiked to higher levels and he sank to all fours again. Akamaru hopped onto his master's back with a growl.

"You're finished! Gijyuu Ninpou, Jyuujin Bunshin!" cried Kiba.

Akamaru went up in a poof of smoke. When it cleared, a second Kiba stood in the dog's place as a result of the Man-beast transformation. The only way to distinguish Akamaru from Kiba was the fact that Akamaru didn't have an aura around him. The two Kibas growled ferociously at the unnerved blond.

"_Those eyes don't look too friendly,_" thought Naruto nervously while tensing.

In a flash, Kiba and Akamaru separated and attempted to strike Naruto from both sides. Naruto quickly pulled off a back flip to safety. The moment he touched down, Naruto disengaged the catch release on his arm weights. They hit the ground with a soft boom. Naruto crouched to try and remove his left leg weight, but Kiba rushed him before he could even tug on the brace. Naruto quickly rolled onto his back and used his legs to launch Kiba to the wall behind him.

The dog tamer easily caught himself and ricocheted off the wall towards the blond again. Naruto quickly fueled his arms with chakra and pushed off the ground into midair, causing Kiba's strike to miss. Naruto touched down a few feet away only to get swiped at by the waiting Akamaru. Naruto ducked just and time and swept the transformed dog's legs from under him. Akamaru caught himself with his new hands and lashed out with a kick directly into Naruto's chest. The blond went sailing backward to receive a scratch from behind by Kiba. Naruto winched.

"_Damn it! I feel like I'm the ball in a tennis match!_" thought Naruto while rolling between Kiba's legs.

Once behind Kiba, Naruto took to the air with a high jump. Kiba and Akamaru charged towards the area Naruto was going to land with grins on their faces.

"I see an opening!" announced Kiba. "Eat this! Gatsuuga!"

Kiba and Akamaru dove forward and begun spinning at insane speeds. The two vortexes that were Kiba and his pooch, plowed into the hapless blond just as he landed. With a cry of pain, Naruto got bowled over and landed painfully on his back. He hacked up a mouthful of blood before going still. Kiba and Akamaru skidded to halts a few feet away.

"How'd ya like that!? Double Fang Destroyer is a success!" taunted Kiba before laughing his head off.

"Naruto! Please, get up!" pleaded Elaine worriedly with everyone else's thoughts.

"_Elaine…I won't give up yet!_" thought Naruto determinedly.

The blond climbed shakily to his feet.

"I'm…going to become Hokage…I can't lose here…not while I have a promise to keep!" gasped Naruto.

"Hah, don't make me laugh! A weakling like you could never be Hokage! But don't feel bad, I'll become Hokage for you!" declared Kiba before laughing again even more loudly than before.

Naruto's trembling hands became fists.

"A dork like you, Hokage! You shouldn't set impossible goals like that. Deep inside you know you'll never become Hokage!"

"That's not true!!" cried Elaine who looked besides herself with fury. "Naruto has a Shinobi's heart and more Hokage level strengths than you'll ever have! I know he'll become Hokage because he promised me! You're the one who shouldn't set impossible goals, you jerk!"

Everyone stared at Elaine in wide eyed silence. This was the first time any of them had ever seen her lose her temper. The sight was both unnerving and impressive at the same time. Domino and Sakura glared at Kiba as well.

"That's right! Naruto will become Hokage, got that!?" backed up Domino.

"Come on, Naruto! Show this guy what the future Hokage is made of!" added Sakura.

"Yeah!" chorused the others.

Even the Jounin and Sarutobi himself nodded encouragingly. Naruto smiled as he gazed at everyone he came to call friends, the very people who believed in him.

"You guys…" he felt something warm and wet slid down his cheeks.

They were tears of happiness and love for those who acknowledged him. Hastily he wiped them away before gazing at Kiba with eyes that radiated hope. The smile that followed was both happy and beautiful, a mixture of sadness and relief. Slowly, an aura of extremely bright chakra radiated around him. The light from it almost made the blue seem as white as snow. It then expanded, until it was triple its' usual size! A loud snapping sound rang out as his leg weights were crushed under the pressure of Naruto's chakra. They detached from his legs and dropped to the floor.

"Kiba…I made a promise to someone very precious to me that I would become Hokage. This time, I intend to keep it for both her and everyone else in this village," said Naruto with that expression still on his face. "It all starts now."

Naruto vanished from sight.

"What!?" exclaimed Kiba before an enormous pain shot through his guts.

He doubled over to find Naruto standing in front of him with his fist buried in his stomach. Kiba weakly hacked up a mouthful of blood. Naruto then vanished again just before Akamaru could try to assist his master with a punch to Naruto's back. Unable to stop, Akamaru accidentally sent Kiba flying into the wall behind him. Akamaru whimpered and took a step towards Kiba, only to get knocked into the air by an uppercut from Naruto. Akamaru yelped and landed on all fours, he shook his head in an attempt to clear away the dizziness.

Naruto stood calmly between them with his eyes closed and his fists by his side. Kiba and Akamaru climbed to their feet and nodded at each other. With a cry, they charged at Naruto and started throwing dozens of punches and kicks. Naruto never moved from that spot, but every time it looked like a blow would land the blond would flicker. Genmaru smiled at the confused looks on the beast warriors, and everyone else's, faces.

"_Not bad, Naruto. You're able to move so fast now that it's hard for an untrained eye to even tell that you're dodging,_" he observed.

"Hey what's going on? Is Naruto using a Genjutsu?" asked Lee.

Neji activated his Byakugan. Not even a minute later he gasped.

"This guy…his chakra is moving so fast that I don't think he's staying in one place for very long! He's just dodging Kiba's attacks!" reported Neji.

Everyone found this bit of news especially shocking. Domino begun to laugh.

"No way! He almost moves like…"

Naruto vanished completely, resulting and Akamaru and Kiba punching each other in the face. They howled in pain while holding their noses.

"Damn, Naruto! I'll teach you to make a fool out of me!" growled Kiba before smashing some more smoke bombs to the ground.

Kiba and Akamaru grinned and wordlessly charged the fog covered blond.

"Gatsuuga!"

Once more they became vortexes of fangs and claws. They then starting ripping into the smoke repeatedly with the hope of hitting Naruto while he couldn't see anything. They finally ceased the technique when the mist started clearing. Naruto was nowhere in sight.

In a flash, Naruto appeared behind Akamaru in midair. The dog tried to spin around, but Naruto had already lashed out with a kick into Akamaru's neck. The dog yelped and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, leaving only white in them. He sank to the floor and transformed back into his normal form. Akamaru was out cold!

"Akamaru! No!" wailed Kiba in dismay.

When Kiba looked up again with bloody murder in his eyes, he found himself surrounded on all sides by seven more Narutos. The blond wonder had used the Shadow Replication!

"This is it!" cried the clones.

Kiba cried out in pain as his legs got tackled from behind by one clone, and he took a direct tackle from another clone. The real Naruto then appeared below the airborne dog fighter and kicked him higher into the air with an axe kick. Naruto vanished after this and his clones leaped up to score kick after kick into Kiba's back, knocking him higher still. Kiba was now nearly thirty-two feet in the air. The real Naruto appeared above him in a flash and, with a loud cry, started stomping on Kiba's stomach repeatedly the whole way back to the ground. Naruto then spun into a very Sasuke like stomach smash while his clones all kicked upwards into Kiba's back.

"Naruto Gakeppuchi Rendan!" they all cried as one.

A geyser of blood sprayed from Kiba's mouth upon impact. Between the brutal stomach smashing and the combine kicks of the clones, Kiba's innards were screaming in pain. The real Naruto performed a flip off of Kiba's stomach while the clones withdrew their legs. Kiba dropped lifelessly to the ground, completely out cold. Hayate examined Kiba for a moment before raising his hand.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto," he announced.

Everyone begun to cheer as the clones went up in smoke. Naruto grinned at them and vanished in a flash. He reappeared a split second later between the others. They all started heartily patting him on the back.

"You did it, Naruto! Alright!" cheered Sakura.

"You were amazing, Naruto! Also, what you said before was wonderful," added Elaine with a slight flush.

Even Shikamaru and his squad were impressed.

"Yeah! It was a piece of cake since I had you guys rooting for me!" bragged Naruto happily.

"Um, Naruto-kun," came Hinata's quite voice.

Everyone turned to her curiously. She started blushing as she offered the vial of ointment again.

"What's that, Hinata?" asked Naruto curiously.

"M-medicine, for your wounds, Naruto-kun," replied Hinata with a tomato red face.

The blond grinned and accepted the gift.

"Thank you, Hinata! You're a great person!" praised the blond.

Hinata smiled back and fiddled with her fingers.

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun."

The blond immediately opened the container and stuck his finger into the content. He then applied the cream to one of the many cuts he had received during the course of the exam. It felt cool to the touch even though a small bit of steam rose from the wound. In an instant, it healed until not even a scar remained. Naruto was ecstatic!

"Wow! This stuff works great!" cried Naruto happily. "You guys should try some of this!" he held the vial out to everyone who had just fought.

Kakashi sweat dropped.

"_You're the only one here that would heal that quickly, Naruto. The power of the Nine Tails never ceases to amaze me,_" mused the gray haired ninja.

Everyone then took notice of the medical team's arrival. Kiba and Akamaru were in bad shape it seemed. Hinata bowed her excuse to the others and rushed to Kiba's side just as the medical team placed him on the stretcher.

"Um, please take this," she requested while offering another vial of ointment. "Use it to treat Akamaru and Kiba-kun."

Kiba sat up and stared at Hinata for a moment before grinning.

"Heh, you shouldn't worry so much, Hinata! These wounds aren't all that bad," said Kiba with a wink. "There are still nine of you guys left. You, Chouji, Domino, Neji, Genmaru, Lee, those Sands and that Sound guy. Listen, if you get paired with that guy with the gourd give up right away. Do the same for Neji too, he won't be going easy on you at all."

"Kiba-kun…" said Hinata sadly.

"Promise me you won't fight them, Hinata! You could get seriously hurt or worse, killed!" pleaded Kiba earnestly.

Hinata gave the merest of nods. Kiba smiled before laying back down.

"Thanks, Hinata," he said before allowing himself to be carried away.

Hinata watch for a moment before returning to the upper level. At Hayate's usual cough, everyone then turned towards the monitor. The usual animation occurred until…

Shishikura Domino vs. Temari

"Whoo Hoo! It's finally my turn!" cheered Domino excitedly.

"Awesome, Domino!" said Elaine happily. "This is your big chance to shine!"

"I can't wait to see you in action, dear," added Genmaru with a warm smile.

Domino hugged him.

"You're so sweet! I'll try to win this one for both of us!" promised the lavender eyed girl.

Genmaru kissed her on the forehead and returned the embrace.

"Aww, that's cute!" said Sakura and the other girls at the sight.

The couple blushed and separated.

"Well, I better head down there now!" said Domino with rosy cheeks and a hand behind her head.

Everyone offered one last moral boost before she headed to the battle area. Once there she faced Temari, whose hand was on her hip impatiently. The two girls stared at each other in complete seriousness that was rare for Domino. Hayate proceeded to the opening statement.

"The eighth match shall be between Shishikura Domino and Temari. Do either of you have any objections to this?"

"None!" replied both girls.

Hayate raised his hands.

"Eighth match, begin!"

* * *

"I'll just warn you right now, if I start attacking you're finished," declared Temari.

Domino sighed and shrugged.

"I've heard that line so many times, it's boring," said Domino before placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward. "Are you really as strong as you say?" she asked with a wink.

Temari smiled and grasped her fan.

"Why don't you attack and find out yourself," she invited mischievously.

Domino giggled.

"You really are a tomboy! It's too bad, you're pretty cute you know. You're letting your looks go to waste."

Temari didn't respond, but she chuckled all the same. She never encountered such a happy go lucky personality before. It was a funny new experience considering that anyone else would have been out for blood in this situation. Domino then sank into a combat pose. The two stared at each other excitedly for a moment, then Domino charged.

The lavender eyed girl's fist shot forward in a power packed straight liner. Since there was no dirt in the tile filled room, Domino didn't bother creating armor. Still, her fist rang out as it struck Temari's fan, which the shapely blonde shielded herself with. The blow had enough force to make her slide back a few feet. Temari's eyes widened in surprise.

Quickly the fan user spun into a crouch while swinging her partially opened fan. Domino stomped hard enough for her feet to become planted in the ground. The lavender eyed girl shielded her eyes with her arms now that she was anchored in place. Temari grimaced, this girl was frighteningly strong.

Once Temari's attack came to an end, Domino reared back and punched the ground hard enough to crack several of the tiles around her. With a smile, Domino begun flashing through several hand seals. An aura of gold chakra engulfed her and the broken tile shards rose into the air and started orbiting her.

"Doton, Doryuudan!" cried Domino before thrusting her hand towards Temari.

The razor sharp shards shot towards the fan wielder like a swarm of bullets. Temari smiled and swung her fan so fast that unless one was looking for it, it was difficult to see. An even stronger gust of wind picked up that scattered the shards in different directions. Domino went flying onto her back as well, despise her prior preparation for such a thing. She shielded her face as the shards started raining around her. Thankfully none of them hit her while she was laying there. Temari spoke once she climbed back to her feet.

"There are three stars decorating my fan," she announced while pointing to the two purple spheres on the paper part of the weapon. "Once you see the third one…you lose."

Domino sweat dropped.

"I hate to burst your bubble but I don't think another little gust of wind is going to defeat me," she pointed out.

Temari smiled.

"Are you sure about that?" she taunted. "Personally, I'd surrender if I where you. Your defeat is certain, little girl."

Domino didn't waste her breath trying to make a comeback to that. She quickly dashed towards Temari and leaped into a jump kick. Temari blocked this and grunted as her fan was nearly dislodged from her hand due to the force of Domino's strike. Domino boosted off of the fan straight into the air and came crashing down with a two handed smash. Temari was brought to her knees as her fan begun to cave in slightly from Domino's strength. Domino shifted her weight on the fan into a one handed handstand. She boosted off into the air again and came crashing down a second time with a double stomp.

The tile beneath Temari gave way, and she cried out as she plummeted. Temari stopped her decent into darkness just in time by using her fan as a brace. She dangled from it with gritted teeth.

"Temari!" cried Kankuro in alarm.

Domino peered down towards Temari with a grin on her face.

"Give up?" she asked the Sand kunoichi.

"Heh, as if!" shot back Temari before pulling herself back up.

Domino waited patiently for her. Although she could've ended the match right then and there, Domino was simply having too much fun to stop now. Once Temari was back on solid ground, she stood up and dusted herself off. She then closed her eyes and snapped her fan open completely.

"Third star, you lose," stated Temari with a smirk. "You should've dislodged me when you had the chance, kid."

Domino pouted.

"But then we wouldn't be able to play anymore!" teased the earth manipulator.

"Unreal, how can anyone be this strong?" gasped Ino.

"Because she's Domino!" replied Elaine with a laugh.

"Go for it, Honey!" cried Genmaru supportively.

"Hah, this is great! Domino already has it won!" declared Naruto with his hands behind his head.

"Yeah!" agreed Sakura.

The others started cheering as well while the adults started at Sagitario as if to say "What kind of training did you make her do?" The green haired ninja laughed and joined in on the cheering.

"Feh, I'll silence your little fan club with this! Kamaitachi!" Temari waved her fan twice in rapid session resulting in a tornado!

"Uh oh!" hissed Domino before quickly running in the opposite direction.

The lavender eyed girl was too slow however and the torrent of wind easily over took her. The wind lifted her a good fifteen feet into the air and started slicing and dicing her repeatedly. Domino's mouth opened into a scream of pain that was drowned out by the whistling noise of the wind.

"Domino!" cried Elaine and a teary eyed Sakura.

Naruto and Genmaru shook with fury at the sight.

"Domino!" hissed Genmaru angrily.

It took all of his will power not to jump down there to his girlfriend's rescue. He knew that Domino would never forgive or speak to him for a long while if he interfered. He instead clenched his fist by his side.

Domino grunted as she slowly curled herself into a ball. Temari smirked.

"Making yourself a smaller target isn't going to save you! You're trapped in that technique!" she declared.

Domino begun to tremble for a moment before violently snapping her body to it's full height. An aura of gold chakra engulfed her right then and there. The massive energy surge canceled out the tornado completely, much to the total shock of Temari.

"Tsuchi Tora no Mai!" she cried.

Domino then spread her arms out on either side of her and started revolving in midair. Temari stumbled as every single tile started lifting off of the ground. Quickly, the fan master tossed said weapon into the air. With a high jump, Temari hopped onto it and hovered in place. Hayate took to the air and landed next to the others on the upper level. The tiles then started spreading out and leveling off at different heights. Some of the tiles started moving about as well.

"The Dance of the Earth Tiger!?" exclaimed Elaine with wide eyes.

"Earth Tiger? What do you mean, Elaine?" asked Sakura.

"This is a highly concentrated Taijutsu style that makes use of the environment to aid whoever invokes it. It's one of three Earth based Taijutsu dances that Domino has mastered. In the case of the Earth Tiger dance, Domino's overall speed will begin to rise in addition to her strength as she battles," explained Elaine. "_But to use it without her armor. The strain she'll put on her body will be tremendous,_" she silently added.

"Hang on! So she's getting faster now?!" asked Naruto in awe.

"Yeah. As you know, the Earth Dragon Circular Battle Dance is the first style that Domino starts with. This dance gradually increases her strength with each action she takes. The second dance, Earth Tiger, affects her speed as the battle carries on. Then there's the third dance …"

Domino stopped spinning and dropped gracefully onto the tile beneath her. She smiled confidently and started dashing towards Temari. As Domino's foot started to step on empty air, one of the other tiles quickly moved beneath that foot. Domino ran on the hovering tiles in this fashion with a noticeable increase in her running speed, but nowhere near the extreme levels of Naruto's just yet.

Domino lunged towards Temari with a brutal power punch. The fan rider hovered higher into the air, just out of her reach. Domino was easily caught by one of the tiles. She then started running upwards in a circle as if she were climbing stairs. Her running speed jumped to higher levels as she went. Temari hopped and started spinning while waving her fan. A swirling gust wind begun blowing the tiles out of alignment. Domino ended up falling since the tile that was suppose to catch her got blown away.

The earth manipulator dropped safely onto another tile beneath her. Temari touched down safely on a tile as well. The two fighters stared at each other for a moment. Domino then became a blur as she jumped from tile to tile towards Temari. The Sand gasped, her speed had increased again!

"Here I come!" cried Domino before leaping directly at Temari.

The Sand, quickly hurled her fan at Domino like a boomerang. Domino thrust her palm in front of herself. Several of the tiles immediately moved to form a wall in front of her. The flying fan bounced harmlessly off of the barrier and returned to Temari's hand. As quickly as she could, Temari ducked behind her fan and swung it upwards. The fan vanished into thin air, and Temari was nowhere in sight either.

Domino landed on the tile Temari had been standing on and glanced warily around.

"Darn, where'd she go?" whispered Domino to herself while panting a little from the side effects of her enhanced running speed.

"Right here!" came Temari's voice from behind her. "Kamaitachi!"

Domino was a blur as she leaped from tile to tile in an effort to stay ahead of the resulting whirlwind. Temari smirked as the wind started gaining on her. Domino then took a surfer dude approach and hung on to the tile she was standing on. The gust of wind blew the tile and Domino towards the far wall at high speed. Domino quickly boosted off towards it and started quickly running along side it as a speeding blur. As Domino ran, she became faster and faster still.

With a cry, she launched towards Temari and took hold of her arm. She then went into a quick spin and hurled Temari into the air. Quickly Domino clapped her hands together causing all of the tiles, except for the one she was standing on, to pelt Temari repeatedly. Temari blocked what she could with her fan, but a lucky shot still hit her hard enough in the head to knock her out.

Domino caught Temari unconscious form in midair with some tiles. She then directed all of hovering floor pieces back into their original places. Once the battle area floor had been reconstructed, Domino sank tiredly to her knees. Hayate jumped back to the lower level moved to examine the K.Oed Sand. After a moment, he raised his hand into the air.

"Winner, Shishikura Domino!" announced Hayate.

"Done like dinner!" said Domino with a grin.

"Yatai! That was amazing, Domino!" cried Sakura.

"Show off!" teased Elaine with a laugh.

Domino stuck her tongue out before grinning, flashing the peace sign and winking. She then turned to look at Gaara and Kankuro, who were just staring in an intrigued fashion. She smiled in a way that said, "Want to play?" Kankuro and Gaara glared, Domino sure knew how to rub a victory in the enemy's face. With that, she returned to the upper level.

The medical squad arrived at that point and examined Temari. The Sand kunoichi had no serious injury, but the giant lump on her head from where the tile struck was unnerving. Odds were high that she would have to spend a night in the hospital for observation. The team placed her on the stretcher and carried her off. Everyone then started animatedly talking about the highlights of the match.

Not too long after that, Hayate's cough made them turn to the monitor. Once the animation ended, two names were displayed.

Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji

Hinata trembled in fear while Neji glared at her. Nobody cheered or even knew quite what to say to either of the Hyuugas. The family feud between them was well known among nearly everyone present. Wordlessly, Neji headed to the battle area. Naruto sensed the tension in the air, but put on a smile anyway for Hinata's sake.

"You can do it Hinata, I'll be rooting for ya!" he promised.

Hinata swallowed nervously but managed a 'thank you' before heading to the battle area. She and Neji then faced each other.

"The next match up shall be between Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata. Do either of you object?" asked Hayate.

"No," replied the fighters.

"Okay then. Ninth match, begin!"

* * *

"I didn't think that I would be fighting you, Hinata-sama," begun Neji.

"Nii-san…" murmured Hinata.

"Big brother? I didn't know that they were siblings," voiced Sakura in confusion.

"Truthfully, those two are cousins. As descendants of the Hyuuga clan, Neji was born into the Branch Family while Hinata was born into the Head Family," explained Lee.

"Head Family and Branch Family? What's the difference?" asked Naruto.

"Well, the Hyuuga clan's Head Family is considered its' founders. The Branch Family carries the same bloodline abilities, but its' purpose is to protect those from the Head Family. Since the Branch Family is treated as inferior, there has been a lot of quarrels between them and they are not on good terms with each other," explained Lee.

"What caused the quarrels in the first place?" asked Sakura.

"Hm, my guess is because of this. Old noble families like Uchiha and Hyuuga pass their bloodline abilities down to the next generation. But unlike Uchiha, the Hyuuga clan had certain rules about that. The rules seemed more favorable to the Head Family."

"I see," said Naruto before turning his attention to the upcoming battle. "I hope this doesn't get too messy."

Neji narrowed his eyes.

"This is your only warning Hinata-sama, give up. You're not suited to become a ninja," declared the older Hyuuga, much to Hinata's dismay. "You're much too soft and you always let others take the lead. Also, you lack self confidence. You thought more than once that it would be okay just to remain a Genin, but at the coaxing of your friends you took part in this exam. Am I wrong?"

"That's not true, I'm taking the exam willingly! I wanted to change myself and…and…" stammered Hinata.

"Tsk, Hinata-sama, you're just a spoiled child. People cannot change, a failure will always be a failure. That's why terms like Elite and Failure exist. You'll always be judged by your looks, personality, body and abilities. But they will never change no matter how hard you try. Just like how we can't change that I'm from the Branch Family and you're from the Head Family," said Neji in contempt.

Naruto begun trembling in rage at what he was hearing.

"_Who does this bastard think he is!?_" thought the blond heatedly.

"I've seen many things with my Byakugan, Hinata-sama. That's why I know that you're just a scared little girl in the wrong place. Even now, you're thinking of trying to scarper," he stated coldly.

"That's not true! I-I…" cried Hinata tearfully.

Sakura turned to Kakashi.

"What's a Byakugan?" she asked.

"It's an advance bloodline that is similar to the Sharingan. However, Byakugan exceeds the Sharingan when it comes to foresight and clairvoyance," explained the older ninja.

Neji formed a seal with his hands clasped together. He closed his eyes and frowned.

"Byakugan!"

They snapped open and throbbed with veins once more. Hinata trembled at the sight of Neji's fearsome eyes. She then felt an enormous amount of pressure on her head. Her eyes begun rolling and Hinata almost thought she would swoon. The pressure then ceased.

"You're not fooling anyone. Since your eyes rolled to the top left after you felt my pressure, this indicates that you were recalling a past event. After that, your eyes moved to the bottom right meaning that you're imaging physical and mental pain. In other words, you imagined your old self and predicted the outcome of this match. A prediction that says you will lose!" said Neji coldly.

Hinata gasped in fear and raised her arm almost unconsciously. She pressed her finger to her lips out of habit.

"The fact that you just put your arm in front of you means that you want to distance yourself from me with a barrier. You don't want me to see your true feelings because what I said has all been correct. Also, your action of touching your lips indicates that your mind is disturbed. This is a defensive action that tries to lower nervousness and uneasiness. This shows that you already realize that you'll never cha…"

"You can change!" bellowed Naruto angrily.

Everyone turned towards the blond, who was gripping the hand rails tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

"Don't try to label people like that, you bastard! Hinata, beat him up or at least say something back! It's making the rest of us mad!" cried Naruto.

Hinata's gaze lowered to the floor.

"_Naruto-kun…thank you, for everything. I'm not going to run away anymore,_" promised Hinata before glaring determinedly at Neji.

The older Hyuuga stiffened.

"_Her eyes changed! Just from a few words!?_" he realized. "So you're not giving up huh? Don't blame me for what happens later on then!"

Hinata formed the same seal as Neji did.

"Byakugan!"

Her eyes gained the same look as Neji's. She then sank into the gentle fist Taijutsu style, Juken.

"Let us fight now, nii-san," she requested quietly.

Wordlessly, Neji assumed the same stance. Lee started trembling.

"This is bad. They're both using the same Hyuuga style," said Lee with clenched fists.

"Hyuuga style?" echoed Sakura.

"Yeah, the strongest Taijutsu style in Konoha. Remember when I said that the strongest Konoha Genin is on my team? I was referring to Neji," he explained.

"But what is this Hyuuga style?" asked Sakura.

Gai answered this time.

"Juken, a combat style that deals massive damage even at the slightest touch. Unlike Gouken, the hard fist style Lee and I use, Juken doesn't try to break bones. Juken instead attempts to damage an opponents chakra circulatory system and internal organs by forcibly entering the user's chakra into the opponent through direct contact."

"One other thing to note. There's no way to train your organs against damage from that style. Take a hit and you're sure to die," added Kakashi.

"Ano sa Ano sa, what's the chakra circulatory system?" asked Naruto.

Everyone sweat dropped except for Lee, who raised a professor like finger.

"Simply put, it's similar to blood vessels. Basically, there are pipes that circulate chakra throughout the body. This chakra pathway is closely linked to your internal organs as well. Which is why a hit from the Juken style is often fatal," explained the mini Gai.

"But that should be impossible to do, Kakashi-sensei!" said Sakura. "The chakra circulatory system is invisible to the naked eye! How would you attack it?"

Kakashi grew thoughtful for a moment.

"I suspect that it's because of the Byakugan. Its' clairvoyance is so highly focused that it should be no problem for those two to see it," replied the gray haired ninja.

Everyone returned to the match with a good deal more worry than before. This Hyuuga style sounded really dangerous.

The two fighters charged. Once in range, Hinata started off with a palm thrust. Neji knocked it aside and begun bobbing and weaving as Hinata followed up with several more. Once an opening had been noticed, Neji started thrusting right back. Hinata easily dodged them due to her natural flexibility. They went back and forth like this until Hinata attacked with a particularly vicious thrust at Neji's midsection. The older Hyuuga stepped out of the way of the attack and assumed a ready stance.

The duo circled each other to search for openings. Slowly Hinata inched forward. Once close enough, she lunged into a thrust that Neji blocked. With a hiss, they resumed the back and forth spar from before. They quickly tired of this and with loud cries they thrust at the same time. Neither fighter moved and the silence was at an all time high. Then the unthinkable happened, when Hinata coughed up a mouthful of blood. Neji watched several droplets land on his hand.

"So this is the best that the Head Family can do," said the older Hyuuga coldly.

Hinata's breathing was a bit labored, but this fight was far from over. She quickly knocked Neji's hand away from her heart and attempted a thrust towards his face. Effortlessly, Neji seized her arm and rammed his index and middle fingers on his free hand into it. Hinata gasped in pain as her arm went numb. It was getting hard just to stand. Wordlessly, Neji slid the sleeve of Hinata's jacket up to reveal several bruises decorating her slender arm.

"You where…when did you?" stammered Hinata.

"Yes. The whole time we fought, my target has been the Tenketsu on your arms," confirmed Neji darkly.

"Tenketsu?" asked Sakura once more.

"The chakra circulatory system releases the stored energy thru three hundred and sixty one points. These chakra holes are called the Tenketsu. They're very small, no bigger than the point of a needle really. This is where Juken is most effective. By forcing chakra into these holes, one can close it and trap the chakra in the body. This gives the user total control over the enemy's chakra and, if hit accurately, can stop the natural flow of chakra completely," explained Kakashi. "One other thing, the Sharingan is incapable of seeing the Tenketsu. Only a Byakugan user has that much clairvoyance."

"Darn it! Does this guy has a weakness at all?" grumbled Naruto.

Neji attacked with a power packed palm thrust. Hinata went flying back with a cry. Fortunately for her, Neji didn't try to hit any critical areas or chakra points. Still, Hinata had a difficult time rolling onto her hands due to the damage that had already been done. Neji watched her for a moment.

"Hinata-sama, this is the difference in our unchangeable powers. Now do you see why this fight was pointless?" asked Neji.

Hinata remained silent as more blood dripped from her mouth onto the floor. She stared at her life blood sadly.

"This is your last warning. Give up or I just may kill you," threatened the older Hyuuga.

Much to Neji's surprise, Hinata struggled to her feet.

"I'm not going…to run…I won't take back…my words!" she stood up and gasped for breath. "That is my way of the ninja, my nindo!"

Hinata gazed fondly at Naruto and smiled. The boy who had inspired her to never give up, smiled back. This time, Hinata was fighting for more than just herself.

"Hinata…" murmured Naruto proudly.

"She's a lot like you, Naruto-kun," said Lee with a smile.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Come to think of it, she was always watching you," pointed out Sakura.

Naruto took comfort in the thought. He had a lot of truly special friends, it only served to remain him that they were all precious to him. Hinata returned her gaze to Neji with renewed determination.

"Let's settle this then," said Neji coldly.

The moment his killing intent surfaced, Hinata felt her heart give a violent throb. She then coughed up a third mouthful of blood. Her legs started trembling like jelly as her hand covered her damaged heart. Neji dropped into a Juken pose anyway, even though it was clear that this match was already won. Everyone grew alarmed when they saw this.

"Those eyes…Hinata won't get killed will she?" asked Ino nervously.

"Of course not!" snapped Domino. "I'll rip that guy limb from limb if anything happens to her!"

"You'll have to beat the rest of us to it. Still, this guy's strength is almost unfair," said Sakura.

"Neji has been toying with Hinata the whole time. You would know that better than anyone, right Lee?" said Genmaru.

"It's true," replied Lee sadly. "Neji has barely even scratched the surface of his abilities."

"It doesn't matter! Hinata, do your best!" cried Naruto.

With a nod, Hinata raised her hands and charged. Neji tensed. Once in range, Hinata started off with a thrust. Neji knocked it aside and countered with his own. Hinata blocked it with her arm and pulled off a high kick. Neji ducked it and lashed out with kick towards Hinata's stomach. The girl easily brought her leg down on Neji's, canceling out his attack. Hinata then spun and attempted a back knuckle as Neji started rising. The older Hyuuga leaned back and avoided the strike.

They separated and rushed each other once more. This time Neji took the offensive and started lashing out with rapid arm thrusts. Hinata blocked until an opening appeared and started lashing out with her own thrusts. Forced back onto the defensive, Neji started retreating as he blocked in the hope that Hinata would wear herself out from using the extra energy to follow him. The younger Hyuuga quickly caught on and attempted a low spinning sweep to try and throw Neji off guard. He quickly hopped back to avoid this and grunted. Hinata was fighting with a lot more fire than he ever would have thought possible.

The two begun circling each other while Neji lashed out with thrust after thrust. Hinata easily blocked all of them. A glint appeared and Neji's eyes and he pulled back on the last thrust. Just as he hoped, Hinata took the bait and tried to attack with a power thrust. As quick as lightening, Neji seized Hinata's arm and pulled her forward. Now that the younger Hyuuga was off balance, Neji struck her in the chin with a brutal open palmed uppercut. More blood spewed from her mouth as Hinata staggered backwards. Tears of pain touched her eyes as she entered a coughing fit.

Once she got a hold of herself again, Hinata wiped her mouth with her sleeve. She raised her arms once more and charged to resume the fight. Hinata had just reared back her arm for another strike, but Neji beat her too it with a iron hand style power thrust directly to her heart. Hinata's eyes returned to normal before glazing over. She then slumped limply on Neji's arm. The shock everyone felt at seeing Hinata like this was extreme.

"You really are stubborn, Hinata-sama," said Neji without looking at her. "Your low level attacks had no effect to begin with. Hopefully you'll remember this lesson, if you don't die."

The older Hyuuga let her fall to the floor. Neji then folded his arms and took a few paces backwards so that Hayate could call the match. The judge examined Hinata's non seeing eyes and shook his head.

"This match is over. Winner, Hyuuga Ne…"

"Don't stop the match!" cried Naruto, much to Neji's irritation.

"But Naruto-kun, that was a finishing move! Neji aimed for her heart!" said Lee sadly.

"Yeah, Naruto! Can't you see that she fainted and…" Sakura stopped upon seeing the smile on his face.

In confusion, everyone followed Naruto's gaze to find Hinata climbing to her feet again!

"Impossible!" exclaimed Neji.

It took some time, but Hinata was soon upright again. She was breathing heavily as a Juken miracle. She had survived a death blow!

"How is this possible!? You should be dead right now!" murmured Neji worriedly.

Hinata staggered forward.

"I can still fight…" gasped the younger Hyuuga.

"Don't bother acting tough. We both know that you can barely stand. Even now you curse your powerlessness. It won't change so just give up. Don't suffer any more than you already have, Hinata-sama," said Neji in almost a pleading tone.

He clearly didn't want to hurt her anymore. Still, Hinata shook her head defiantly.

"Your wrong, nii-san. The person suffering the most right now isn't me. It's you, nii-san," said Hinata.

"What!?" murmured Neji darkly.

"You're the one who feels the most confusion and pain between the head and branch families. Just let it go," requested Hinata.

"Damn you! What do you know!?" bellowed Neji angrily before charging at Hinata in a blind rage.

"No!" cried the others.

Neji had just reared back for a death blow when he came to a halt. Hayate stood in front of Neji with a powerful chakra force paralyzing his body. Gai had one arm wrapped around his throat just tight enough to warn him that he would cut off his air. Kakashi had Neji's outstretched thrusting arm in an iron grip. Kurenai had Neji's other arm in the same grip. Lastly, Sagitario had the tip of his sword pointed directly at Neji's heart.

"Neji, cut it out now. You made a passionate promise to me that you wouldn't fight with her over the head family," said Gai seriously.

Neji growled.

"Why did the other Jounins stop me too? The head family gets special treatment again huh!?" snapped Neji angrily.

"You shouldn't worry about petty things, Neji-kun. You don't really think that we'll let you kill Hinata-chan over something so pointless do you?" said Sagitario calmly, he wasn't smiling this time.

Hinata suddenly dropped to her knees and started coughing violently. Kurenai and Hayate rushed to her side while the other Jounins continued to restrain Neji. Naruto, Lee, Elaine, Genmaru, Sakura and Domino rushed to the hacking Hyuuga as well.

"Hinata, are you alright!?" asked Naruto once in range.

Up close, the Hyuuga girl looked really battered up. Two trickles of blood were flowing from her mouth and staining her hoodie. One eye was closed tiredly while she gazed at her friends with a half opened second eye. Her breathing was ragged, but sometimes would grow so quite that it was hard to tell if she was still conscious or not.

"Naruto-kun…" was all Hinata managed to say before passing out completely.

Immediately, Kurenai unzipped Hinata's hoodie and pressed an ear to her heart. Hinata's heartbeat sounded irregular.

"Damn it, she's going thru ventricular fibrillation!" hissed Kurenai before glaring hatefully at Neji. "You were trying to kill her!?" she demanded.

Neji smirked.

"Instead of wasting time with me, shouldn't you get her some help?" he said in mocked politeness.

"Hey get a medical team out here quick!" cried Kurenai desperately.

The med squad was quick on their feet. They quickly ran a full check up on her condition and health stasis.

"Not good, she won't last ten minutes at this rate! We have to get her to the emergency room now!" said one of the medical ninjas.

The squad placed her gently on a stretcher and, with cries of hut hut, rushed her out of the room. Everyone watched them go with feelings of sadness and regret. Why did this have to happen to her, was everyone's thoughts at that time.

"Hey, the blond joke of a ninja there," called Neji to Naruto's back. "Here's a piece of advice for you, stop cheering like that. It's disgraceful and something that is only done by fools. One other thing, a failure is a failure no matter what he does to change. You're one of them."

Naruto turned around and glared at Neji hatefully.

"Do you want to find out how much of a failure I am?" asked Naruto in a voice barely above a whisper.

Neji smirked.

In a flash, Naruto was enveloped in chakra. He slowly took a step towards Neji.

"Stop it, Naruto-kun!" cried Lee.

Naruto stared at him with smoldering eyes, it was obvious that the blond was really upset.

"I know how you feel, but if you try to fight him now you'll be disqualified from the exam! I say wait until you can fight him in an official match!" reasoned Lee.

Naruto glared at Neji again but didn't make any moves yet.

"A failure can defeat a genius with hard work remember? Don't forget that you're not the only one who wants to fight Neji, but if you match up with him in the main matches I won't hold a grudge. I only ask that you wait!" pleaded Lee.

"He's right, Naruto," added Genmaru seriously. "Look around you."

The blond did so to find everyone, except for the Sands and the Sound ninja glaring at Neji. At first, Naruto did nothing. Then, he lowered his fist and let the strength offered by his chakra slip away.

"Fine. But if we fight…I swear I'll take you down!" promised Naruto with one last glare at Neji before striding away.

Lee flashed Gai the nice guy pose as if to say "That was good right Sensei?" Gai returned the gesture as if to say "Very nice Lee, well done!" With that, everyone returned to the upper level. Hayate had a janitor come out to clean the battle area. Everyone took this time to start chatting about the matches except for Naruto, who wanted to be left alone for a while. The others were reluctant to allow this, but they knew that the blond needed a moment to calm down after his outburst with Neji.

"Poor Hinata, I hope she'll be okay," commented Elaine sadly.

"She better be or I'm going after Neji for sure!" vowed Domino with a glare in Neji's direction.

"I agree, but I'm kind of worried about Naruto. He took it pretty hard," said Sakura absently while gazing at the blond.

Naruto was leaning on the railing with a look of deep thought on his face. Most would've thought that he was thinking about Hinata, but truthfully he was brooding on the events that got him where he was today. Chief of his thoughts were all of the precious people he could now call friends.

"I feel kind of bad for him too," said Ino worriedly.

The others muttered their agreement.

"Yeah well anyway…" Shikamaru turned to Chouji and pat him on the back. "Looks like you're in trouble now pal. Only the strong guys are left." teased the lazy ninja.

"Oh no!" moaned Chouji on weak knees.

"Geez it's not that bad, Chouji!" said Ino with a sudden mischievous grin. "There's just that Sound guy, that Sand guy, Lee and Genmaru!" she teased, making the butterball tremble even worse.

"I hear that Lee is stronger than Sasuke too," added Shikamaru.

"AHH, I'm quitting!!" wailed Chouji fearfully.

"Really, then I guess you don't want that all you can eat barbeque then!" said Asuma.

"Aw, but I want that!!" whined Chouji.

Asuma kneeled next to him.

"Relax Chouji, if things look bad I'll stop the match. In the meantime, think of all those glazed chicken and fish platters. You'll do fine, right?"

"Yes sir," mumbled Chouji miserably.

The others laughed…

Kankuro gazed at Gaara out the corner of his eye. The gourd wearing Sand was trembling for some reason.

"_Oh great, he's excited now,_" realized Kankuro with a sigh. "_This is so not what I need_."

Kankuro gazed towards Neji.

"_He certainly seemed strong,_" he thought before noticing Naruto standing alone.

Wordlessly, he started heading towards him.

"Where are you going, Kankuro?" asked his Jounin Sensei, Baki.

A well muscled man with bandage wrappings covering half of his tan face and all of his hair. He wore the same ninja apparel as the others except his were all lime green in color. His black eyes followed Kankuro's movement like a hawk.

"Just a bit of recon. Back in a flash," replied Kankuro with a wave over his shoulder.

He approached pretty much unnoticed by the blond, who was deep in thought.

"Hey, little man!" greeted Kankuro much to Naruto's annoyance. "Why are you here by yourself? Shouldn't you be with your buddies?"

"What do you care?" snapped Naruto before staring determinedly away from him.

Kankuro smiled.

"Hey don't be like that. I wanted to ask you about that Neji guy. What's his story?" asked Kankuro curiously.

"He's going to get his ass kicked! That's his story!" cried Naruto with fire in his eyes. "Anyway, what are you asking me for? Do I look like his mother or something?"

Kankuro sweat dropped.

"Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot before but I think you're a cool kid. Let's be friends, what do ya say?" asked Kankuro amicably.

Naruto frowned, the offer seemed genuine but he still didn't trust the guy.

"No thanks, there's nothing cool about you at all!" replied Naruto.

"_This brat! I'll kill him!_" thought Kankuro while glaring at the blond.

A familiar cough drew everyone's attention.

"We're now ready to start the selection for the next match. Please turn your attention to the monitor," requested Hayate.

"Yosh! It'll be your turn for sure this time, Lee!" declared Gai.

"No, I'd rather go last!" said Lee with his nose turned up.

"Are you sulking?" asked Sakura with the other's thoughts.

That question was never answered, since Genmaru suddenly teleported into the battle area drawing everyone's eye. He glanced towards the upper level.

"Hey don't keep me waiting," joked Genmaru good naturedly.

Chouji screamed.

"Yeah! Yer safe!" he cried happily.

Everyone glared at him. Ino and Shikamaru then punched him in the head.

"Don't scare us like that!" scolded Ino.

"You had us thinking it was you for a second," grumbled Shikamaru.

Everyone then glanced at the monitor.

Vaughn Genmaru vs. Rock Lee

"Yeah! You fell for it!" cried Lee with a kick to the air. "By saying that I wanted to be last, it didn't happen! Take that you random selection guys!"

"Good one! Lee!" praised Gai.

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Here Lee, let me offer some advice!"

"Yes sir, Gai-sensei!" replied Lee at full attention.

"Nobody else has noticed, but the chakra radiating from his hand is suspicious!" declared Gai.

"I see!" said Lee while taking notes on a notepad he produced from his pocket.

Everyone sweat dropped again.

"Hey, don't write that down you fool! You'll have no time to read it during the battle!" cried Gai.

"I see!" replied Lee while jotting that down as well.

"Will he be okay? He doesn't seem too sharp," said Domino with a twitching eyebrow.

Everyone else sighed.

"Yosh! Let's go, LEE!!" cried Gai while pointing to the air.

"SIR!" replied Lee with the fires of youth in his eyes.

The mini Gai then leaped down to the battle area. Once he straightened up, he bowed respectfully to Genmaru. He then assumed the initiative granting pose again.

"I'm honored to be able to fight you this early!" said Lee confidently.

Genmaru returned the bow.

"The honor is all mine, Lee. Please, let's give it our all," said the misty eyed ninja cheerfully.

"Lee! Genmaru! Do your best!" cried Sakura.

"Give us a great show, honey!" cheered Domino.

"No matter who wins, we're all rooting for both of you!" came Elaine.

The others voiced their agreement to that. Hayate then begun the start step.

"The tenth match shall be between Rock Lee and Vaughn Genmaru. Do either of you object?"

"No!" they replied excitedly.

"Okay. Tenth match, begin!"

Genmaru sank into a loose fighting stance. Lee relaxed his stance a bit as well. It was obvious that the two wanted to warm up and test each other's basic abilities first. Lee started the match off with a charge. Once in range, Lee leaped.

"Konoha Senpuu!" cried Lee while going into a spin kick.

Genmaru ducked under it just as Lee hoped. The misty eyed ninja was now vulnerable to his unblock able secondary low kick, or so Lee thought. In a flash of speed, Genmaru vanished from sight and reappeared a few feet away. Lee aborted the kick and rose to his full height.

"_Interesting. It was faint, but Genmaru-san used a carefully controlled burst of chakra to avoid my attack. This may be more difficult than I first thought,_" mused Lee with a smile that was mirrored by Genmaru.

Genmaru tilted his head a bit as if saying, "Take another shot." Lee jumped at the chance, albeit more cautiously than last time. Lee quickly closed the distance between them and attacked with a spinning axe sweep. Genmaru leaned back to avoid the kick and speedily swept Lee's other leg from beneath him. Immediately, Genmaru rammed his elbow into Lee's side while he was airborne.

Lee winched and caught himself with his palm. Lee then performed a leg sweep in a fashion similar to a break dancer. Genmaru pulled off a quick double back flip to safety only to take a kick to the back from Lee due to his sudden burst of speed. Genmaru stumbled forward into a roll, and ended up facing Lee. He was just in time too, Lee had followed up his move with a backhand. Genmaru stopped this with his palm and retaliated with a slow power punch to Lee's midsection. Lee caught Genmaru's fist, but the blow had been close enough to his stomach for him to feel it through his palm anyway.

Lee carefully placed his right foot behind Genmaru's left foot and bent his knees. This had the desired effect of forcing Genmaru off balance. Immediately, Lee tried to flip Genmaru onto his back. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that easy. Genmaru leaned into the throw and managed to land on his feet instead. The misty eyed ninja used the momentum gained to reverse the grappling move back on Lee. Just when it seemed that Lee would hit his back, he vanished in a flash of speed and reappeared a few paces away. But Genmaru was nowhere in sight.

"Nani!?" cried Lee before performing a forward roll.

He was just in time too. Genmaru's head piercing freefall move with his sword missed completely. The misty eyed ninja smiled at Lee in a congratulatory manner while twirling the blade a few times. They then assumed battle ready stances. Genmaru seemed to glide rather than run as he dashed towards Lee in the form of a reddish blur. Lee somersaulted over Genmaru's low sword sweep and lashed out with a juggernaut kick. The counterattack passed through an after image, Genmaru's speed was off the chart!

Lee quickly withdrew and twirled a pair of kunai around his fingers. He then leaned back and blocked Genmaru's overhead swing with the knives. With a cry, Lee pushed Genmaru's sword away and went into a shoaling spin while thrusting rapidly with his knives as he went. Genmaru performed several sideways Lunar saults while occasionally knocking aside a kunai thrust that got a little too close. They came to a complete stop and took turns throwing roundhouses at each other. Due to how quickly they would perform the spin kicks, they never were able to hit each other. After five of these, they separated.

Neither fighter seemed remotely tired in the least. Genmaru smiled and sheathed his sword.

"That was great, Lee. May I assume that the warm up is over now?" asked Genmaru with that kindly smile still in place.

"Yes it is, Genmaru-san!" replied Lee with a determined smile. "Please attack me with everything you have! I want to fight you at your best!"

"Likewise," replied Genmaru. "You should remove those weights you're wearing, Lee."

* * *

The stunned silence that followed was extreme.

"_He knew about them all this time!?_" thought Lee in awe.

Nervously, Lee glanced at Gai. Gai immediately struck the nice guy pose.

"Go ahead Lee, take em off!" he okayed.

Everyone was momentarily confused.

"But Gai-sensei, I thought that was only permitted when protecting many important people!" questioned Lee.

"It's fine, I'll allow it this time!" waved off Gai with a dazzling grin.

Lee begun to laugh with giddy excitement. Quickly, he lifted his leg warmers to reveal weights just like Naruto wore. The difference was that his had a lot more metal plates attached to the braces. Naruto and Genmaru grinned just as broadly as Gai.

"Cool! You've been holding back on us, Fuzzy-brows!" cried Naruto.

Lee stood up to his full height with a weight in both hands.

"Much better! I can move a lot easier now!" he let go of them.

The weights seemed to freefall in slow motion drawing everyone's eyes to them. Once the falling training gear did hit the ground, the results were very chaotic. An ear splitting boom rang out and twin pillars of dust rose into the air. When it cleared, they found that the weights were in nearly three feet deep craters! Everyone's eyes grew as wide as saucers. Gai then gave a two fingered salute.

"Get him, Lee!"

"Yes sir!" cried Lee excitedly.

Lee bent his knees only slightly before vanishing from sight. A millisecond later he appeared behind Genmaru and lashed out with a brutal right hook. The blow never came close to connecting. Genmaru vanished and reappeared besides Lee with his fist already in motion, but there was something odd about it. Both of Genmaru's pistons were covered in scorching hot flames. Even everyone in the upper level could feel the heat coming from his fists.

"Shounetsu Knuckles," murmured Genmaru before slugging Lee in the cheek

The spandex wearing warrior slid side ways for a good five feet. Gingerly he touched his enflamed and stinging cheek. Genmaru aimed his right fist at Lee in the universal declaration that his blazing hands would be Lee's downfall. Domino squealed excitedly in the stands.

"You're so cool! Get him, baby!" cheered Domino with more gusto than ever.

Naruto and the others could only manage a 'whoa.' The match had just gotten started and already the odds had shifted to Genmaru's favor. Elaine giggled at the stunned expression on everyone's face as their eyes followed the flame's dance.

"That's one of Genmaru's Kekkei Genkai techniques," explained Elaine with a smile.

"Hang on! Genmaru had a bloodline ability!?" exclaimed Sakura.

"Yep, it's a pretty rare occurrence that a few males in our clan obtain from time to time. It varies a bit depending on the element they use though. In Genmaru's case, he could super heat the chakra around his hands to the temperature of the sun if he wanted. He turned this ability into a fighting technique, Burning Knuckles. I doubt I need to explain the reason for the name," explained Elaine.

"But before he didn't even know what that ability was!" pointed out Sakura.

"Neither did we. Genmaru didn't exactly show off this ability all that often, and he just recently got it about a year ago. Had Sagitario-sensei not caught Genmaru messing around with it last week, we probably still wouldn't know what it was. A negative of being such a rare occurrence I suppose," explained Elaine sheepishly. "Anyway, the more chakra he puts into the technique, the more it takes after an actual fire. He only just learned how to use it properly before the Chuunin exam started."

"Yeah, and he's going to kick Lee's butt with it!" declared Domino with a laugh.

Everyone sweat dropped at Domino's passionate energy. It seems that this battle was going to be more interesting than expected.

"Very nice, Genmaru-san. I was not prepared for that at all," admitted Lee while trying his best to ignore his smarting cheek. "It's my turn now!"

Lee vanished again and reappeared behind Genmaru with a spin kick already in motion. Genmaru only just managed to seize Lee's leg in mid-kick with his blazing hand. Lee's leg immediately protested to Genmaru's touch, but Lee ignored the pain anyway. Quickly Lee drew a kunai from his pouch and hurled it to score a cut along Genmaru's cheek. The misty eyed ninja was lucky that he had leaned his head aside or else the damage could've been much worse. Still, the sting from his cheek took too much of his attention allowing Lee to free his leg from Genmaru's grasp with a jerk.

Lee then performed a sweep. As expected, Genmaru leaped backwards to avoid it. With a smirk, Lee hurled a swarm of shuriken after him before immediately vanishing from sight. Genmaru was a blur as he withdrew a kunai, deflected the wave, and spun into a helicopter style rising slash all in one motion. Lee barely avoided the kunai as he pulled off a double back flip to safety.

"_He predicted where I was going to show up!_" observed Lee during his aerobic display.

Before the second flip had even been completed, Lee vanished again and Genmaru with him. From there, Naruto and the others only caught brief glances of them as they reappeared and vanished over and over again as they fought. They level of speed they were fighting at was amazing.

"Darn, where's Sasuke when you need him!? He could've gave the play by play!" grumbled Naruto as he struggled to keep up with them with his eyes.

Genmaru reappeared at that moment and raised his hands, palms up, into the air. The reason for this became clear when Lee appeared with a heel drop already in motion. Lee hissed at being predicted again when his ankle started screaming in pain from Genmaru's touch. Genmaru flipped Lee onto his feet and pulled off his own Juggernaut kick right into his midsection. Lee flew back and landed with a winded grunt on his back. Genmaru held his leg in place without lowering it. It was clear, that his speed was still higher than Lee's even without his ankle weights on.

"_Not good, at this rate I'll lose!_" realized Lee in dismay. "_There's no choice, I'll have to try and finish this in one blow_…"

"This is amazing! First there was Naruto, then Domino and now those two can move like that too! This tournament is filled with nothing but titans!" exclaimed Ino in awe.

"I know, it's mind boggling how strong they are. They're on fire!" agreed Shikamaru.

"_What a pair. They truly are a sight to behold,_" thought Kakashi with his arms folded.

Everyone else was either too stunned or too excited to think of a good cheer. Still the atmosphere more than made up for it. Sakura turned to Gai.

"I noticed this during the battle. Why doesn't Lee use a Ninjutsu or a Genjutsu?" she asked.

"That would be a wise thing to do, but he can't. You see, Lee has no talent in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu moves whatsoever," replied Gai with a smile.

"How can that be!?" exclaimed Sakura.

"I'm not sure why, he's been like that ever since I met him. Normally this would be a problem, but in Lee's case he had devoted himself fully to developing his Taijutsu. It was the only thing he could turn to if he was to survive as a ninja. And that's why he can win!" declared Gai with a dazzling grin.

Lee stood up and begun unraveling the bandage wrappings on his arms. Once done, he took a deep cleansing breath and stared determinedly at Genmaru.

"_It's all or nothing!_" he thought.

"Now, Lee! Let the power of youth EXPLODE!" bellowed Gai.

"SENSEI!" cried Lee with the fires of youth burning more brightly than ever.

With that, Lee vanished once more. In an instant, Genmaru had rose a few feet of the ground thanks to a hard kick to the chin from Lee. Genmaru cried out in pain.

"_What this!? He's even faster than before!_" realized Genmaru as he sailed into the air.

Lee wasn't done there though. Quickly he boosted off to land kick after brutal kick into Genmaru's stomach. The duo rose higher and higher into the air, but the strain of pulling off so many kicks at such high speed caused Lee to winch just for a moment. He shook it off and vanished to reappear behind Genmaru for the grand finale.

"Omote Renge!"

Lee's bandage wrappings snaked around Genmaru's body, binding him completely. With that, he and Lee started spinning at dizzying speeds. Like a rocket fired from a rocket launcher, they freefell to the ground for a titanic level smash. A huge cloud of dust picked up barring everyone's view of the devastation Lee had caused. When it cleared, everyone was stunned to find a seven foot deep crater. Another foot deeper and the tile would've collapsed completely. Genmaru however was nowhere in sight, much to the shock of everyone present. Lee leaped, unharmed out of the carter and sank to his knees with heavy breathing.

Genmaru appeared behind Lee and vomited into the new hole in the ground due to the dizziness he felt from Lee's attack. Once finished, Genmaru glanced weakly over his shoulder.

"That was terrible," he groaned…

"What's going on!? How could he have escaped!?" cried Gai in frustration.

"Simple Gai, take a look at your student's bandages," instructed Kakashi.

"Huh?" grunted everyone except for Kakashi, Elaine and Domino.

From what they could see of Lee's wraps, they had been burned almost completely away. Gai begun to tremble at the sight.

"Genmaru must've heated up his chakra enough to burn his way free. Then at the last second, he escaped from Lee's technique," observed Sakura.

"Looks like the tables have been turned, Gai," said Kakashi coolly.

Gai lowered his gaze to the floor.

"_Lee_…"

Weakly Lee held up his arms and examined his bandage wrappings.

"I see. That was a brilliant plan on your part. I didn't expect you to use your chakra like that," admitted Lee quietly without looking at Genmaru.

Genmaru strode towards Lee and kneeled next to him. He still looked a little dizzy, but he managed a good natured smile anyway.

"That wasn't much Lee but I'll admit, if you had got me with that move I would've lost. Personally, I'm having a great time fighting with you," said Genmaru honestly.

"So am I, but I won't be much of a challenge to you now," said Lee with a sad smile.

"Hm?" grunted a puzzled Genmaru…

"What's the matter with Lee-san? He should try to attack Genmaru while his guard is down," said Sakura.

"It's not that simple…" murmured Gai.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"Sakura, why do you think the Lotus is a forbidden technique?" asked Kakashi.

Sakura lowered her gaze. Truthfully, she didn't know why.

"Think of it as a double-edged sword. Since it's a Taijutsu skill that requires high speed movement, it puts a lot of strain on the body. Right now, Lee is in so much pain that he can't move very easily at all," explained Kakashi.

"No…Lee!" cried Sakura.

"The kid just had bad luck matching up with that guy. Frankly he should just give up," commented Kankuro.

"That's not true. Lee isn't the type to just quit when the going gets tough," said Gai. "Lee is…a genius of hard work! I have never ending faith in him and what more, I'm very proud of the strong man he has become!" Gai smiled as he watched his pupil…

"I see," murmured Genmaru. "You know, it's not all that bad. I think you have more power than you realize, Lee."

"Are you just trying to make me feel better?" asked Lee.

Genmaru chuckled.

"You have no idea just how lucky you are, do you?" Genmaru teased. "Take a look around you, Lee. This is your strength."

Lee did so, and what he saw brought tears of happiness to his eyes. The encouraging stares of his peers and most importantly, the proud gaze of his Sensei. Lee smiled and returned his gaze to Genmaru after wiping his tears away. Genmaru smiled encouragingly as well.

"Genmaru-san…thank you. I almost gave up back there, but you…" begun Lee.

"It's okay. You don't have to thank me at all," said Genmaru while rising to his full height. "Let's give these guys a sample of the power they gave us."

Genmaru offered Lee a helping hand. Lee took it and rose to his feet. Once upright, the two took a few paces away from each other backwards. They then entered another battle stance. This match wasn't over yet, not by a long shot.

"Yosh! Excellent work, Lee!" cried Gai while pumping his arms.

"He did it!" cried most of the others at the same time.

"Lee-san! You're amazing!" cheered Sakura.

Genmaru and Lee stared at each other for a moment.

"Last move decides it?" asked Genmaru.

"Yeah!" replied Lee.

Calmly, Lee crossed his arms in front of himself. Kakashi's eye widened in shock at the sight.

"Gai! What did you do!?" demanded Kakashi.

"I think you already know, Kakashi," replied Gai with a smile.

"Are you telling me that that kid can open the gates."

It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," replied Gai more seriously this time.

"Damn it, Gai! How many of the eight gates can he open!?" demanded Kakashi angrily.

"Five," replied Gai quietly.

"Have you lost your mind!?" shouted Kakashi at the news.

"Hang on! What are these gates you're talking about?" asked Sakura.

"Hachimon, the process of opening the eight chakra gates to gain temporary strength. It is crucial if Lee is to perform the Reverse Lotus, a much more powerful version of his Initial Lotus," explained Gai.

"Hachimon?" echoed Sakura.

"Yes. You see, in the Chakra Circulatory System there are eight points where the chakra stored is strongest. Two are in the head, and six are in the body. In order they are the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Rest, the Gate of Life, the Gate of Pain, the Gate of Closing, the Gate of Joy, the Gate of Shock and the Gate of Death. They act as limiters to control the amount of chakra that flows thru your body," explained Kakashi. "The Reverse Lotus forces these gates open to grant the user easily more than ten times their normal strength. But it comes at a terrible price."

"Why's going to happen?" asked Naruto nervously.

"With each gate that is opened, the body will further destroy itself from the inside out. Also, if at any time the eight gate is ever opened…the user will die," said Kakashi gravely.

The tension that followed that statement was extreme. Kakashi glared at Gai once more.

"It's too late for me to stop you now Gai, but you went too far this time. I never thought you would willing risk the life of a kid."

"What do you know, Kakashi!? Lee has something to prove to everyone right now! The desire to be the best ninja he possibly can is a goal that he was readily willing to die for! To help him reach that goal, I was willing to do anything it took! Right now, Lee is a man who can defend his dreams! If you need proof, then take a good look at him!" shouted Gai.

"_This is for you, Gai-sensei!_" mused Lee before taking on a frown of concentration.

It wasn't visible, but a powerful force begun to surround Lee. Every single mind was put under unimaginable pressure as it grew stronger. Slowly, Gaara's hair rose into the air as if it were being blown by a gust of wind. Veins started bulging from Lee's muscles and forehead and his skin started turning into a dark shade of reddish tan. Lee's pupil's lost their coloration until they were completely white. The force everyone felt, became visible as a HUGE aura of green chakra. More than half the room was covered by Lee's chakra force!

"Gate of Life! Release!"

He lowered his arms and revealed a face that seemed filled with rage. The tiles all begun to shatter and bits of them were rising into the air. Lee hunched over as his power shot through the roof!

"_Not yet! I need more!_" he thought. "Gate of Pain! Release!"

Lee's muscle mass practically doubled as the veins in his body further bulged outward. Lee screamed in both pain and fury as his power further increased. Genmaru frowned in concentration at that moment. Genmaru's chakra then jumped until it was fully maxed. His aura easily covered more than half of the room. To say the least, it was HUGE! The two auras begun to collide and push at each other while making no real progress. Although there was no killer intent in either fighter's aura, everyone still felt that they would go mad if they stayed any longer.

Then, at a speed that not even Naruto could match, the two fighters vanished. The site where he had been standing erupted into showers of tile fragments. The others cried out in alarm as a huge gust of dust swamped them. The force behind the high speed brawlers attacks were incredible. With every blow that landed or even missed a constant barrage of dust winds would kick up, blinding everyone. Even if they could have opened their eyes, they wouldn't have been able to see the two fighters at all!

At some point, the two reappeared again in midair. Genmaru looked just as bloodied and battered as Lee. These two were clearly giving it everything they had. Lee further pushed his powers to the limit.

"This is the end! Gate of Closing! Release!" cried Lee.

His spandexes begun to tear as it grew too small to fit his super powered frame. A shockwave of such strength that it forced everybody to their knees erupted from Lee's body. He vanished once more, and Genmaru went with him after taking a blow to his solar plexus. They abruptly reappeared on the other side of the room. Lee reared back for the explosive finish on the barely conscious Genmaru. Naruto was positive that he saw Genmaru flicker for a moment.

"Ura Renge!"

Lee pulled Genmaru towards himself with his free hand and lashed out with a brutal punch/kick combination. The biggest dust gust of all blinded the others as Genmaru plummeted to the ground with such speed that it was sure to kill a normal man. Genmaru smashed completely thru the tile floor, into the darkness below. Lee strength then left him and he landed with a winded thud on his back. His twitching body wasn't going anywhere by the looks of it.

"He won!" exclaimed everyone in awe.

"Genmaru!" Domino wailed.

Lee smiled where he laided.

"It's finally over," he mumbled exhaustedly.

"I'll say!" agreed Genmaru voice before he appeared standing over Lee.

"Impossible!" cried just about everyone in awe.

"Genmaru-san, you used a replacement technique right?" asked Lee with a knowing smile.

"Yep, I would show it to you but you pulverized it with that last attack. It was one of my favorite logs too," said Genmaru with a hearty laugh.

Lee closed his eyes and exhaled a content sigh.

"Genmaru-san, if there's anyone I could lose to. I'm glad it was you," said Lee before giving him the thumbs up.

Genmaru returned the gesture and Hayate raised his hand.

"Winner, Vaughn Genmaru!" announced Hayate.

Everyone jumped down to check on Lee, who was being treated by the medical squad.

"Hey, how are you feeling, Fuzzy-brows?" asked Naruto.

"Sore but I'll manage," replied Lee with a tired smile.

"Gosh, I hope it's not too serious!" commented Elaine upon seeing the bruises covering Lee's body.

"I may have went a little rough on him," admitted Genmaru with a sheepish grin.

"No way, it looks like Lee did more damage to himself this time around!" said Sakura while holding Lee's hand to comfort him.

Sakura grew instantly concerned when Lee's face flushed.

"Lee-san, are you alright? You're not running a fever are you?"

"No, Sakura-chan!" replied Lee with an even deeper flush due to embarrassment. "I'll be fine."

Gai gave Lee the nice guy pose over Sakura's shoulder. One of the medics then turned to him.

"You're the Jounin in charge of him right? Lee is really lucky right now. He only just avoided tearing his muscle fibers," he reported.

"Yosh! Lee, another excellent rival has appeared for you!" cried a teary eyed Gai.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two started sobbing while everyone sweat dropped. The medic then continued with his report.

"Lee's body is very weak right now so it'll take some time for him to heal. Off the record, we're looking at about three months before he's fit again. We'll need to observe him in the hospital in the meantime."

Everyone cheered at the good news. Lee was going to get better soon!

"That's great, Lee-san!" said Sakura enthusiastically.

"Yeah, the only down side is that you'll probably miss the main matches," added Domino just as cheerfully as everyone else due to the good news.

"But we'll be sure to tell you all about them!" promised Elaine.

"Thanks you, guys," said Lee before exhaustion finally forced him to sleep.

The medical staff bowed respectfully and carried Lee away for treatment. Hayate then drew their attention.

"I understand the situation, but we need to start the next match now," he said.

Everyone nodded in understanding and headed up to the upper level. The monitor then proceeded with the animation sequence…

Vaughn Genmaru vs. Sabaku no Gaara

A stunned silence overcame the room. Everyone gave Genmaru a worried glance. If he felt any fear or dismay at being forced to fight twice in a row, Genmaru wasn't showing it. He merely locked excited eyes with Gaara's cold ones.

"Will the fighters please come forth," requested Hayate.

Nobody cheered or even said anything. They all knew that Genmaru was at a disadvantage and thought better of planting false hope. The two fighters calmly strode to the battle area and faced each other. Hayate then begun the usual start step.

"The eleventh match shall feature, Vaughn Genmaru and Sabaku no Gaara. Do either fighter have any objections to this?"

"No." they replied.

"Then we shall start. Preliminary match number eleven, begin!"

* * *

Gaara removed the cork from his gourd and threw it at Genmaru's face. The sword wielding fighter easily caught it without so much as a flinch. Genmaru examined it for a moment before tossing it aside. The two then stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Seeing than Genmaru had no intention of starting off, Gaara formed a seal. A large wall of sand rose from Gaara's gourd and solidified until it looked like a giant spear. It then lunged forward to impale the misty eyed ninja.

Slowly Genmaru grasped the handle of his sword. With just a split second left to dodge the sand, he vanished from that spot and appeared directly in front of the redhead. Gaara gave a start and instinctively took a swat at Genmaru due to his unnerving, in your face, arrival. Genmaru leaped aside and almost lazily drew his sword and sliced Gaara's arm in the blink of an eye. Gaara's arm erupted into a spray of sand!

"_I see, so he was wearing it eh?_" observed Genmaru before attempting to slam the knuckles of his free hand into Gaara's face.

The sand only just managed to block Genmaru's attack, or so Gaara thought. Genmaru's incoming knuckles seemed to vanish into the sand before bursting through it and slamming into Gaara's face. By putting on a burst of speed, Genmaru's fist had gathered enough momentum to smash through the sand into his face. Gaara flew back to land with a grunt on his back. The misty eyed ninja hopped back a few feet and sheathed his sword…

"Ha ha! Get him good, Genmaru!" cheered Naruto.

"Impossible!" murmured Kankuro in awe.

"Genmaru! You're amazing!" cheered Sakura.

"Yay, Genmaru is the best fighter here after all! I love you sweetie!" cried Domino with explosion level excitement.

By this time, Gaara had climbed back onto his feet. The sand then started to surround him.

"Uh oh, this is bad!" said Kankuro.

"You bet it is! Bad for your partner that is!" said Naruto with a grin.

"That's not what I meant, kid!"

Gaara's face started cracking at that moment and begun to crumble away. What was odd was the crazed look Gaara was wearing. Like he was having the time of his life, but was also on the verge of madness. Genmaru stiffened as Gaara's killing intent spiked to danger levels.

"_Is that sand on his body?_" wondered Elaine upon seeing the fragments of his face that fell off burst into sand on the floor.

The sand from his gourd then covered him up and started reconstructing the crumbling face mask he was wearing. It then covered the rest of his body as well. Once the process was done, Gaara seemed to grow calm again.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Naruto.

"That is Gaara's Suna no Yoroi technique. Normally Gaara is protected by his sand shield but if that should fail, Gaara uses the Armor of the Sand to protect himself. It's the ultimate defense," answered Kankuro.

"So then, he doesn't have a weakness?" asked Naruto worriedly.

"I wish I knew for sure myself, kid," lied Kankuro. "_Sadly it's full of weaknesses. One being that it consumes a massive amount of chakra, and two being that it's really thin and not too hard to penetrate_…"

Gaara and Genmaru stared at each other for a moment.

"So, is that it?" asked Gaara. "I want to enjoy this a little more. Mother hasn't been able to get any blood yet," announced Gaara darkly.

"Mother?" echoed Genmaru.

He never received an answer to that, the sand suddenly shot towards him like a bullet. Genmaru took to the air and hurled a wave of shuriken at Gaara. Gaara's sand had no trouble blocking this, but by the time the sand wall lowered again. Genmaru was standing directly in front of Gaara with the tiger seal formed.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

At point blank range, Genmaru rapid fired forty fireballs at Gaara's face. The Sand ninja was engulfed in a huge wall of flame that blocked him from view…

"Gaara!" cried Kankuro in alarm.

"Yatai!" cheered everyone else.

"There's no way anyone would be alive after taking that attack at point blank range!" bragged Domino proudly. "He won!"

Everyone waited in anticipation of Gaara's well being. When the flames finally cleared, everyone was stunned to find Gaara in a four foot deep crater. Another foot deeper and he would've fallen straight through the tile to the dark depths below. The redhead wasn't moving and his eyes were glazed over. Genmaru slowly back away and kneeled with a frown, he was breathing heavily.

"Yosh! Excellent work, Genmaru!" cried Gai while pumping his arms. "You'll truly make an excellent rival for Lee!"

"He did it!" cried most of the others at the same time.

"Is he dead?" wondered Shikamaru pensively.

"This can't be! There has to be a mistake!" stammered Kankuro in absolute shock.

Hayate approached to examine Gaara's body. His eyes grew confused when Genmaru halted him with his hand.

"It's not over yet," said Genmaru knowingly.

Everyone stared at Gaara's body only to see it crumble away into a pile of sand. Somehow or other, Gaara escaped his sand armor just before impact!

"What's going on!? How could he have escaped!?" cried Gai in frustration with everyone else thoughts.

Kankuro chuckled in relief.

"Gaara must've created a Suna Bunshin," he said with a smirk.

"A Sand Clone!? When did he…" begun Naruto.

"I believe it was when he shielded himself from Genmaru's shurikens. He must've dematerialized into tiny sand particles and hid while his clone took the brunt of the damage. Very clever, ne?" answered Sagitario, back from his failed attempt at flirting with Anko.

Everyone stiffened at the news…

"_Shoot! I used up most of my chakra!_" realized Genmaru warily.

A chilling laughter erupted from behind Genmaru. The fire manipulator expectantly looked over his shoulder to find Gaara standing behind him, having meta-morphed back to his regular state. With a blood thirsty grin, Gaara formed a prayer seal. His sand shot straight up into the air and came crashing down in an attempt to crush the misty eyed ninja. Genmaru avoided it easily enough by performing a series of back flips but a particularly fast moving clump of sand seized his ankle in mid-flip. It proceed to pick him up and slam him into a nearby wall.

Genmaru winced in pain, but quickly rolled out of the way of the sand's follow up battering ram like move. Genmaru then charged at Gaara while forming seals as he went.

"Shounetsu Knuckles Rendan!" cried Genmaru.

His fist erupted into twin burning pistons. Since his chakra was decreasing quickly, Genmaru's carefully controlled aura became fully visible. As expected, it was flickering due to low reserves. Genmaru vanished in a flash and appeared before Gaara with a heavy punch to his face. Gaara staggered back a bit and shook his head to try and clear it. This action however, left him vulnerable to a through beating as Genmaru slugged him again and again at insane speed. Gaara was starting to slowly rise into the air as Genmaru pummeled him, boosted off and leaped back to pummel him some more.

This continued until Gaara was over twenty-five feet in the air and burned to the point where the feel of his super heated armor was unbearable. Genmaru vanished one last time and appeared over head for one last attack. He flashed through some seals and focused as much energy as he could into the move.

"Ryuuoh Ninpou, Dai Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

Elaine and Domino gave a start.

"Is he mad!? If that thing misses, we'll all be fried!" cried Domino in alarm.

"Hm? What's going to happen?" asked Sakura nervously.

Elaine sighed.

"That's Genmaru most powerful Ninjutsu technique. The Dragon Lord Skill, Ultimate Dragon Fire. It's a concentrated ball of flame that could easily destroy this entire forest if it misses. Since Genmaru is thinking of using that move, he must be getting desperate to finish him off," explained Elaine.

"It's that powerful!?" exclaimed Naruto.

"Yes. Or rather it would've been if Genmaru was at full strength," said Sagitario. "Since Genmaru is attempting this with very little chakra, it's destructive power isn't as high. Still, there's no doubt that this tower will turn into a conflagration zone if it misses."

Everyone paled, this was a big gamble Genmaru was taking…

Genmaru made a funnel with his left hand and extended his right palm towards Gaara. In less than ten seconds a huge ball of flame, that was burning the handrails due to it's bulk, was formed. One thing for sure, with this ball's size the odds of a miss was pretty slim. Genmaru blew into the funnel he formed and the giant ball broke up into several smaller, but much hotter fireball. They all launched towards Gaara until they passed him before reversing directions and colliding directly into each other with Gaara sandwiched between them. A fiery explosion of tremendous proportions rang out at that moment. The shockwave that followed blew everyone back into the wall behind them. With that, nobody knew anymore…

* * *

Everyone begun to stir a few minutes later. The pain they all felt was proof enough that whatever had happened wasn't a dream. Naruto tried to use the rails to pull himself up, but his hand screamed in pain from the heat of the metal. With a hiss he cradled his aching hand and struggled to climb to his feet. The battle area was in ruins and there were tiny flames burning merrily upon the stone floor. The eye candy however was the sight of both Genmaru and Gaara laying a few feet away from each other out cold. Hayate was unconscious as well by the looks of it.

"What the heck happened? Is everyone alright?" rasped Naruto with a parched throat.

Several replies of I'm fine and the heck if I know answered him.

"Ow!" whined Domino painfully while rubbing her back. "Damn it, Genmaru! I'm going to knock you into next week!"

She then noticed, like everyone else, the K.Oed forms of Genmaru, Gaara and Hayate. Elaine and Kakashi immediately set about dousing the fires with their water Jutsu. Once that was dealt with, Anko withdrew a regulations and rule book manual from her jacket.

"Okay, normally this match would be ruled as a double knock out. But since the judge is down too it comes down to this. The first of the two fighters to stand up will be the winner of this match or if Hayate stands up first, neither fighter advances," said Anko.

"So it all comes down to chance eh?" grumbled Sarutobi. "Very well, let's see how this plays out then."

The words had no sooner left his mouth when Genmaru, Gaara and Hayate all begun to stir. Gaara's armor was really really hot right now, in turn the heat was making it hard for him to move at all. Genmaru's chakra was nonexistent making it hard for him to move as well. As for Hayate, he had taken a hard blow to the head against the wall and didn't look like he would fair any better than the others.

"Come on, Genmaru! Get up!" cried Naruto.

"You can't lose after coming this far!" came Elaine.

"Genmaru! All you have to do is stand up and you'll win!" added Sakura.

"You promised that we would all go to the finals together!" cried Domino.

The supportive cheers seemed to spur Genmaru on and he rose shakily to his hands and knees. Sadly, Gaara wasn't going to make it easy for him. The redhead thrust his fist at Genmaru causing a blob of sand to smash into him, knocking on his side. Gaara's fist then opened into a palm allowing his sand to slowly creep towards Genmaru for the killing blow. The misty eyed ninja saw this coming and begun to roll away from it. Gaara rose to a sitting position and thrust his other palm forward, speeding up the sand even further.

Genmaru desperately begun to climb to his feet. Seeing that the sand wasn't going to reach him in time, Gaara canceled the move and started standing up as well. Complete silence came over the room as they each were in half crouched positions. In the end, they both rose to their full height at the same time. Genmaru managed an amused, if exhausted smile.

"Looks like the fight must go on," he murmured.

"I'll kill you!" was all Gaara said before thrusting his palms forward again.

Now that he was upright, the sand seemed to move much faster than before. Genmaru drew a pair of kunai from his pouch and started slicing through the oncoming sand like they were jungle vines. Gaara grimaced, his chakra was depleting with each failed attack that he fired at Genmaru. What more, Genmaru would take a few steps forward every time he cut through a sand wave.

"_Just a few more steps!_" thought Genmaru desperately when he was only nine feet away.

Gaara seemed to be straining himself as he focused all of his chakra into his sand.

"Sabaku Kyuu!"

A huge tidal wave of sand rose into the air. By the looks of it, Genmaru had no chance of cutting through something that big. Quickly, Genmaru took off running directly towards the sand.

"Is he crazy!?" exclaimed Kankuro.

Sagitario, Domino, Elaine and Naruto smirked.

"Far from it," replied Naruto knowingly.

Genmaru grasped the hand of his sword and vanished from sight.

"What!?" cried Gaara in alarm. "_I thought he ran out of chakra!_"

Gaara sensed a presence behind him and turned around to see Genmaru leaping out of the hole in the ground that was behind him. Gaara's eyes widened in shock…

"How did he…?" begun Sakura.

Elaine and Domino giggled.

"Genmaru dove into the hold Domino had made during her battle earlier. He then punched through the floor tile he weakened when he attacked Gaara with his Flame Missiles," explained Elaine cheerfully.

"Wow!" was all Sakura could manage…

Genmaru drew his sword and freefell with the intent of beheading the Sand ninja. With no chakra and most of his sand on the other side of the room, Gaara knew that he had lost. Oddly enough, Genmaru stopped the blade inches from Gaara's face.

"I'll quit," said Genmaru quietly.

Everyone gave starts of surprise.

"You…why?" demanded Gaara in a hushed tone.

"Killing someone like you, won't ease your pain and suffering. You're a lot like a really good friend of mine, in more ways than one. It's only right that he defeats you," replied Genmaru darkly.

With that, Genmaru sheathed his sword and walked away to rejoin the others. He paused when he heard Gaara gasping in pain.

"Please mom, don't pick on me anymore! I'll be a good boy, I'll get you some blood!" muttered Gaara like a delusional person.

Still, the look of hatred he gave Genmaru showed his will to destroy him at all costs. But he didn't do anything more than stand there, holding his head as if it pained him. Nobody understood what was going on, nor did they really want to know. Wordlessly, Hayate stood up and raised his hand.

"Winner, Sabaku no Gaara," announced Hayate.

There were no cheers, only silence. Gaara sat quietly where he was with no will of his own.

"Gaara!" cried Kankuro and his Jounin Sensei in alarm.

The duo leaped down to see if he was alright. They exchanged a few words before they each seized one of his arms and carried him to the upper level. Gaara didn't protest or even move at all. Not knowing quite what to make of the situation, Hayate merely requested that everyone turn their attention to the monitor one last time. They all had a million questions that they wanted to ask Genmaru, but they knew that now wasn't the best time. The monitor did the usual animation until the last two names were displayed.

Akimichi Chouji vs. Kinuta Dosu

Despise what they had witnessed, Ino and Shikamaru still managed a few encouraging cheers for Chouji as he advanced to the battle area. He and Dosu faced each other wordlessly.

"Now, let the twelfth and final match, begin!" said Hayate without doing the regular start phase this time, since they were the last two.

* * *

"You can do it, Chouji!" cried Shikamaru.

"Do your best…Fatty!" added Ino.

A vein jumped in Chouji's temple.

"Damn it, I'm going to get those guys! Let's get this over with so I can beat them into a pulp!" bellowed Chouji angrily.

"Alright then. Let's have a go…Fatty," taunted Dosu with a smirk.

"What did you say to me!? You bandaged imp!" snapped Chouji with the eyes of death. "Baika no Jutsu!"

Like before, Chouji blew up like a roly-poly balloon.

"Eat it and weep you mummified weirdo! Nikudan Sensha!" cried Chouji before tucking his limbs and head into his clothes.

Chakra gushed out of his sleeves and pant legs.

"Hurray for big boned people!"

Chouji shot forward in an attempt to bowl Dosu over. The Sound ninja easily avoid the slow moving ball that was Chouji by hopping around him. At some point, Dosu found himself pressed against a wall. Chouji charged at him at full speed. Dosu easily jumped right over him, causing the butterball to smash into and get stuck in the wall by mistake. Everyone sweat dropped and Dosu laughed at Chouji's predicament.

"Oh well, at least with his head covered the Sound guy won't be able to use his attacks," groaned Ino.

"This is such a drag," grumbled Shikamaru.

Dosu punched Chouji's body as hard as he could. His fist sank into Chouji's squishy body, not that it did any damage to the butterball.

"Get your hand out of my ass! My ears are covered you pervert!" taunted Chouji from somewhere in his outfit.

"Not quite, you lose," contradicted Dosu before flicking the metal arm that was buried in Chouji's anus.

Chouji cried out in pain before a loud boom rang out from the metal arm. The force of it both demolished the wall, and did massive damage to Chouji. The big guy's head and limbs popped out of his clothes and he was completely out cold. Dosu withdrew his arm and smirked.

"What a fool. The human body is made up of seventy percent water. If you knew anything at all about sound, you would know that water transmits it at high frequencies. In other word, your body is one giant ear when it comes to my attacks," explained Dosu.

Hayate examined Chouji and sighed.

"Winner, Kinuta Dosu," announced the judge. "This concludes the preliminary matches."

Everyone that was present begun to cheer, save for the adults. Anko then took charge.

"Alright you lot! Line up and listen up good!" ordered Anko.

Quickly every moved to do just that, except for Kakashi and Sakura. Kakashi requested that Sakura gather the information on the finals. He left saying that he had to check on something. After that, the others lined up while taking care not to trip over the ruin of the battle area floor. Sarutobi spoke once they were all at attention.

"To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin exam…congratulations. If you are ready, I'll explain the third exam now," said the Third.

Everyone gave the go ahead.

"As you know, your matches will be carefully observed by the judges and Feudal Lords. To have the best chance of becoming Chuunin, withhold nothing from them. The final exam will commence in exactly two months from today," begun Sarutobi.

"Hang on, two months!? Why can't we do it now?" asked Naruto.

"The two month waiting period is necessary to provide our guests with time to arrive. Also, you examinees are advised to take this time to prepare and learn new skills to better your odds. Make use of what you have learned today watching the preliminary matches. They will be essential to the rigorous training you will no doubt go through. Train hard and be sure to get some rest before the finals commence," Sarutobi paused to look at each of them. "Before I let you go, we need to get one last procedure out of the way. Anko, if you'll please."

The petite woman smiled and produced a small black box from her jacket.

"Okay you lot. One at a time I want you to reach into this box and take one rubber ball. On these balls are a number that we will use to determine the match ups for the final tournament. Once everyone has a ball, state you name and number out loud," explained Anko.

She then moved to one end of the line and held it out to each person. Once everyone had a ball, Ibiki stepped forward with a clipboard in hand.

"Starting from the left, state your name and the number on the ball," he instructed.

"Kinuta Dosu, number eight," said Dosu.

"Uzumaki Naruto, number one of course," said Naruto.

"Shishikura Domino, number seven," came Domino.

"Harime Elaine, number ten," followed Elaine.

"Kankuro, number five," went Kankuro.

"Sabaku no Gaara, number three," murmured Gaara.

"Nara Shikamaru, number nine," grumbled Shikamaru.

"Hyuuga Neji, number two," said Neji.

"Aburame Shino, number six," concluded Shino.

"Okay, that leaves Uchiha Sasuke as number four," observed Sarutobi.

Ibiki jotted all of this down and showed the data to the Third. He nodded and stepped forward.

"We shall now announce the pairings for the main matches. Ibiki, you may reveal the match ups now," said the Third.

Everyone tensed as Ibiki flipped his clipboards over. The paper displayed the following in this order.

Match one: Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji

Match two: Uchiha Sasuke vs. Sabaku no Gaara

Match three: Aburame Shino vs. Kankuro

Match four: Shishikura Domino vs. Kinuta Dosu

Match five: Harime Elaine vs. Nara Shikamaru

Everyone gazed determinedly at their chosen opponents. Things were sure to get very interesting yet. Shikamaru then raised his hand. Sarutobi gave him the go ahead.

"Out of curiosity, since this is just one big tournament does that mean that only the winner will become Chuunin?" asked Shikamaru.

"Not quite. As I said, you will all be observed by several judges as you battle. They will be the ones who grade your performance, they will then take a vote on whether you are suited to become Chuunin. Those who are voted as qualified will become Chuunin right then and there. This is possible even if someone loses in the first round, it's just easier to display more of your skills if you win your way up. This in turn increases your odds," replied the Third.

Everyone nodded in understanding. It would take more than beating the tar out of someone to advance by the looks of it. Everyone was now being pressured to make the most of each fight in order to have the best chance.

"Alright, if there are no further questions. You are all dismissed until two months from now. When the time comes report to the battle dome in the center of town for the tournament. Good luck to you all."

* * *

Kabuto strode calmly into brightly lit room in the east wing of Konoha's hospital. The room was so clean that it was disorienting. The only thing contrasting the brightness was the dark pool of blood spreading from one of the bodies of a trio of Konoha's ANBU squad members. Kabuto smirked and pushed a pair of brand new glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"_Too easy,_" he thought while advancing on his goal.

A single bed surrounded by life support equipment. Laying on it was Sasuke, in a state of deep sleep due to some drug or other that he had been injected with. Most likely it was morphine. He was wrapped completely in a blanket save for his extremely pale face. He was wearing an oxygen mask that steamed with each breath the Uchiha took. His eyes and forehead was also covered by a damp rag. Judging by his sweaty face, he was running a high fever. Kabuto stood next to Sasuke and watched him breath for a moment.

"_Looks like our brilliance proved more problematic than expected. We stood out too much, Sasuke-kun. Now we must deal with the watchful eye of Orochimaru-sama. It's not fair to you, Sasuke-kun. You're so young and yet you've been tainted with the devil's own heart already. That Cursed Seal will prove to be your own undoing in the long run. Perhaps I can save you from that now,_" thought Kabuto before picking up a nearby scalpel.

Slowly, he lowered the surgical knife to Sasuke's throat. It flew out of his hand by some strange force. Kabuto smiled in recognition.

"Well well, Kakashi-san. You disarmed me even in your blind spot, well done. But a word of advice, you should have at least ten ABNU stationed next time," teased Kabuto.

"You're not a normal Genin are you? You sensed my presence and immediately readied this knife. Impressive," observed Kakashi while approaching the younger ninja.

"You overestimate me, it wasn't anything special, Kakashi-san," said Kabuto in amusement.

"So what do you want with Sasuke?" demanded Kakashi without missing a beat. "Finding you like this, I ought to haul you in for questioning."

"Is someone as lowly as you even capable of that, Kakashi-san?" quipped Kabuto while turning to face the older ninja.

"Are you looking to take me on, Yakushi Kabuto?" asked Kakashi with dangerously narrowed eyes. "As the adoptive son of Konoha's medical chief, I wouldn't think you were capable of that. What's your connection to Orochimaru?"

Kabuto sneered.

"It's nothing that you would be able to prove, even if you did take me in for questioning."

"Just answer my question!" snapped Kakashi in annoyance.

"And if I say no?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here, punk. Now give me some answers," Kakashi's tone had dropped to danger levels.

"Look, you'll get your answers soon enough. In the meantime, why don't you just let me go this time eh?" taunted Kabuto scornfully.

"I'll teach you not to screw around with me, you little prick!" growled Kakashi with a kunai in hand.

"Heh, give me a break. Don't act so arrogant Kakashi-san, I clearly have the advantage right now," countered Kabuto while producing his own kunai.

Kabuto aimed it over Sasuke's throat. As quick as lightening, Kakashi closed the distance and knocked Kabuto's weapon away. He then pulled off a grappling move that ended with him pinning Kabuto to the floor. Kakashi twisted his arm behind his back. Kabuto went limp, and one of the deceased ANBU bolted upright and made a break for the door.

"_Damn it, he used Shikon the Dead Soul technique to switch bodies!_" realized Kakashi.

Kabuto had just reached the door only to find another Kakashi waiting for him.

"_A Shadow Clone!?_" thought Kabuto darkly.

The two Kakashis had Kabuto trapped. At least until he dropped lifelessly to the ground. Another corpse that was near a window sprang to life and weakened the window with a swarm of shuriken. Kabuto then smashed through it for a twenty foot drop to the trees below. Kakashi looked out the window just in time to see Kabuto removed his ANBU mask and smirk at him. The crafty kid had gotten away…

* * *

Genmaru, Sakura, Elaine, Domino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino and Tenten all stood in the entrance hall of the tower. The group were finally on their way home to get a bit of rest so that they could prepare for the upcoming tournament. The candidates in particular seemed somewhat lost in thoughts.

"I guess this is the last mile stone then," commented Sakura in an effort to strike up a conversation.

"Yeah, we have nothing but a good two months of training to look forward to in the meantime," agreed Domino.

"That's fine by me, I just need to find a practice partner to train with," added Naruto thoughtfully. "I doubt if Kakashi will do it though."

"I'm sure you'll find someone, Naruto," reassured Elaine. "Say let's make a promise! If any of us match up with each other in the main event, we all have to give it our best shot. No holding back this time okay?"

"Yeah sure. It's still troublesome either way," grumbled Shikamaru.

"I find this term favorable," droned Shino quietly.

"Works with me!" agreed Domino.

"Me too, I'm game," added Naruto.

"Good, the main matches should be something to see then. Say Naruto, might I have a private word with you?" asked Genmaru.

"Um, okay," agreed Naruto.

They separated from the others until they were out of earshot. Naruto then gave Genmaru a puzzled look.

"What's up?"

"It's about your training for the tournament. If Kakashi doesn't offer to train you, I can set up a training program for you. In addition to myself, Sagitario-sensei and few of my clan members can help you train, Naruto," offered Genmaru seriously.

"Really? That'll be great! I'll need to run it by Kakashi-sensei first but I'll be happy to receive training from you! What kind of training will we be doing?" rambled Naruto in one breath.

Genmaru just smiled with a small bit of sadness in his eyes.

"_He's just like him_…" mused Genmaru. "I'll give you the details when we start. If Kakashi gives you the okay then I'll need one week to get everything set up. Just do a bit of training on your own until then, okay?"

"Yeah, okay!" replied Naruto vigorously.

With that, the duo regrouped with the others. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the noticeable spring in Naruto's step. She, Domino and Elaine gave Genmaru a funny look. The misty eyed ninja just shrugged with a good natured smile in place. He knew only too well that Domino would get him to spill his guts soon enough, so they didn't press him about it.

"Alright then guys and gals. See you in two months!" said Domino cheerfully.

"Take care!" added Elaine.

"Eat your vegetables!" joked Genmaru.

Everyone slapped their heads at the pun. But smiled and waved them off anyway. The Dragon trio all departed. Since the others didn't have their full team, they stuck together for the duration of the trip out of the forest. It was going to be a long two months…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo, Aninene is here! Finally the bloody site let me post this chapter!! Let's all celebrate, the tenth chapter is finally up!! Also another two chapters for my upcoming fic has been completed as well, YEAH!! You've seen it, the major changes have taken root! I'll just admit this, the only trace of canon is just going to involve Jiraiya. (For those who know who I'm talking about) Everything else is all me :)

Here are the highlights of this chapter. Lee doesn't have his bones broken this time around, The battle order has been switched up a bit, Gaara was nearly killed this time, the time before the tourney starts is now two months and lastly a new training plan is in store for you guys. Ah, that was fun. :)

We have reviews! Let's get cracking shall we.

zerodragon: Yeah it's kind of like that. The dragon team has a trio of kids who are as strong as Chuunins already, but still carry the title of Genin. Then the lovable Sagitario is currently captain of a squad of ANBU but acts as a Jounin sensei to Elaine and the others. I had a lot of fun making Naruto beat the snot out of Orochimaru! XD Also rest assured, Sagitario and company will get a lot more attention from now on. It was my plan all along after all.

Digi fan: Me too, I'm so proud of myself. That scenario was long too! It took two extra cups of coffee to finish it on schedule. XD

jbalman: That's a definite possibility, but it wouldn't be considered a bloodline since it's not something Naruto was born with. YAY, I feel a since of pride hearing you say that! I'm really happy that you're enjoying it! I'll continue to do the best that I can, please let me know how I'm doing as the fic continues. :)

rockleefan: I'm glad you liked that scene. It was one of the most fun to write and a highlight of the fic. Ah, you've touched on a subject that I was just going to introduce. About Genmaru, there's a hint of foreshadowing about a upcoming window into his past when he was talking privately to Naruto. Also, I couldn't agree with you more. The Sannins rock big time! Especially Tsunade!! (Sighs while love hearts floats around head) Yes I know she's old but still what a cutie eh? XD

I love reviews! I can't stress it enough, they really inspire me guys. Please keep submitting them, you're making me one happy author. :)

This dang on Disclaimer is getting on my nerves. Here it comes again. (sigh)

I do not, have not and will not ever own any pair of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything else belongs to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto.

Boring boring boring! But at least that's over and done with. And now the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using his Limit Break against Kiba

Sakura - D Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using her Limit Break against Ino

Sasuke - D Rank while unable to use Jutsu with a Focus Gauge of 40/100

Sasuke - D Plus Rank with power restored by Devil

Kiba - D Plus Rank

Akamaru - D Rank

Akamaru - D Plus Rank after eating Solider Pill

Shino - D Plus Rank

Hinata - D Rank

Hinata - D Plus Rank using Byakugan

Ino - D Rank

Shikamaru - D Rank

Chouji - D Rank

Tenten - C Minus Rank

Lee - C Rank

Lee - B Rank after opening Chakra Gates

Neji - C Rank

Neji - C Plus Rank using Byakugan

Genmaru - C Rank

Genmaru - B Minus Rank at full strength

Genmaru - C Minus Rank exhausted while fighting Gaara

Domino - C Minus Rank

Domino - C Rank using the Earth Dances

Elaine - C Minus Rank

Dosu - C Rank

Zaku - D Rank due to injuries from Devil Sasuke

Kin - D Plus Rank

Gaara - B Minus Rank

Temari - C Minus Rank

Kankuro - C Minus Rank

Kabuto - B Rank

Kakashi - B Rank

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment. It's time for something brand new, Yahoo!


	11. Window to a Troubled Past!

**Window to a Troubled Past!**

**Reaching for the Grand Line!**

Naruto arrived at the hospital shortly after escaping the Forest of Death. Most of the nurses and doctors were giving him surprised looks or worried frowns. The blond couldn't blame them, his clothes were rather filthy and he looked like the survivor of a war zone. This wasn't too far off from the truth giving what he went thru in the preliminary matches. A little self consciously, he approached a cute nurse sitting at the receptions desk.

"Excuse me Miss, where can I find Sasuke's room?" asked Naruto politely.

The nurse checked a listing of records attached to a clipboard. After a moment, she looked at Naruto apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-sama isn't taking visitors right now," she reported.

"What!? Why's that?" demanded Naruto, a little miffed by her use of sama at the end of Sasuke's name.

"Those are the rules," replied the nurse.

"Aw come on, lady! I really need to see someone!" complained Naruto.

A familiar voice drew his attention.

"Naruto, this is a hospital. Keep it down, knucklehead," scolded Kakashi.

"At last, Kakashi-sensei! I thought I'd run into you here! Look, I need a favor!" begun Naruto excitedly.

"Don't bother, I already know what you're going to ask. So I found someone who agreed to supervise your training," interrupted Kakashi.

"Hold on!" cried Naruto with a frown. "I wanted to ask you if I could train with Genmaru before the tournament starts!"

Kakashi seemed surprised at this revelation.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, so with your permission can I?" Naruto was practically begging.

"Alright, I have no problem with it but…"

Naruto burst into a loud storm of cheering.

"Yatai! You're the best, Sensei! I'm going to get really strong now and…" begun the blond excitedly.

"Slow your roll Naruto. You may train with Genmaru, but I also want you to work on your basic skills with the person I picked out for you," finished Kakashi with a frown.

"Oh alright, who is it?" asked the blond impatiently.

"It is I, the elite Ebisu!" came a voice Naruto dreaded to hear.

Naruto turned around to find Ebisu staring at him.

"Aw man! Why do I have to train with you, you closet pervert!?" cried Naruto in annoyance.

"How rude! I am no such thing!" snapped Ebisu.

Kakashi looked back and for between them in confusion.

"Closet pervert? Have you two met?" asked Kakashi.

"You bet we have! Geez Sensei, of all the guys you could've picked why did it have to be him!? He's weaker than me!" protested Naruto.

"You don't say," said Kakashi disbelievingly.

"I'm serious Sensei, you should've seen him! He saw my Harem technique once and he fell to pieces! We were in the forest and…"

Ebisu silenced the blond by clamping his hand over his mouth. Naruto struggled to free himself while glaring bloody murder at his captor.

"Huh, Harem technique?" grunted Kakashi.

"It's nothing at all Kakashi-san, just a little joke we share!" lied Ebisu with a sweat drop.

He then whispered in Naruto's ear.

"Listen kid, keep quite about that and I'll buy you anything you want to eat," bribed the older ninja.

"Fine," replied Naruto with a glare.

Ebisu released him and begun patting him on his head like they were best buddies. Naruto just crossed his arms as if he would rather be anywhere than here.

"I don't know what the story is between you guys but I leave Naruto to you, Ebisu," said Kakashi.

"Right, I'll do what I can!" assured Ebisu before Kakashi walked away.

"Why did it have to be you?" grumbled the blond once Kakashi was gone.

Ebisu took offence.

"You brat, do you think I want to train you?! If it weren't for the fact that Kakashi asked me to do it, I would've turned the offer down!"

"That sounds great to me!" shot back Naruto.

Ebisu sighed.

"I'm not here to argue with you, Naruto. Let's get this over with so I'll never have to look at you again," muttered Ebisu warily.

"Yeah, fine," grumbled Naruto reluctantly.

* * *

Just as Ebisu promised, the duo found themselves at Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto immediately proceeded to order a bowl of miso ramen with barbequed pork. Ebisu ordered a club sandwich with vegetable ramen. Ayame placed the orders in front of them, and the duo dug in. Ebisu spoke after eating more than half of his sandwich.

"Okay Naruto, based on what Kakashi has told me about your abilities it seems that your weak point is chakra control," announced Ebisu.

"Chakra control? Why's that?" asked Naruto with a mouthful of ramen.

"Well, in comparison to your teammates, your abilities are pretty poor. Take Sakura for instance, when using a simple replication technique her control is fine tuned to the point were creating five replications is simple. Sasuke as well, even though his control isn't as great as Sakura's he too can spawn five replications. It's just that in his case, Sasuke would require a little more energy to achieve the same results," explained Ebisu.

"Hah, looks like Sasuke isn't so perfect after all!" said Naruto with a grin.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Your ability to manipulate chakra is terrible. If you were to attempt a replication, the most you could spawn is two," explained Ebisu.

"Hey! If I'm so bad then why can I do things that they can't!?" argued Naruto.

"It isn't the same thing, Naruto! The only reason you can use high level Jutsu like the Shadow Clone is because of the enormous energy granted to you by the Nine Tailed Fox!" snapped Ebisu.

Naruto lowered his gaze to the floor. Ebisu had struck a nerve.

"You see, although you can generate a massive level of chakra, without control you let it slip away almost as quickly as you mold it. The point I'm trying to make Naruto, is that you put forth too much chakra when trying to perform techniques. Every Jutsu has a set limit to it, that is all that it'll require for the move to execute properly," explained Ebisu a bit more calmly. "If you let me show you how, I can help you become stronger," promised Ebisu while rising from his stool.

Naruto perked up at the thought, but he recalled something that had been bothering him since his run in with Orochimaru. He didn't mention it to Kakashi, figuring it to be nothing serious. But ever since Orochimaru had put that seal on him, he hadn't felt as strong as normal. Like a part of him was missing somehow.

Ebisu pulled him from his musings by slapping a few Ryou on the counter and beckoning the blond to follow him…

* * *

The duo arrived at a popular ladies bathhouse not too far away from Ichiraku. Ebisu entered the building while asking Naruto to wait outside. The blond peered through the open doorway to find Ebisu talking with the manager of the place. Ebisu slipped him a few Ryou while the shop owner greedily rubbed his hands together and nodded. Ebisu then came back outside and asked Naruto to follow him to the back of the shop.

Upon arrival, Naruto took in the sight of a beautiful hot spring with a waterfall nearby. The air felt humid and relaxing even though Naruto wasn't in the water. The springs were empty of people, but Naruto heard giggling and splashing coming from behind a fence that hid the lady bathers from view. Naruto grew suspicious.

"Hey pervert, am I suppose to take a bath or something? Or did you just drag me up here so you could peep at the girls?" grumbled Naruto.

"That's enough out of you!" said Ebisu with a frown. "For your training, I'm going to teach you how to walk on water."

"Huh, really? You're not messing with me are you?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"Nope, dead serious," confirmed Ebisu. "It's not much different from the tree climbing exercise you did with Kakashi. What makes it a bit harder is that there's no solid substance for you to stand on. As a result, you'll have to maintain a constant amount of chakra from start to finish or else you'll fall in," he warned.

"Oh yeah, I remember that! I do it all the time to increase my speed!" said Naruto confidently.

"Really? Then, that makes this easy for us. Still, I'll give you a demonstration to make sure you understand what you're about to do," said Ebisu with his first approving smile for Naruto, ever.

"You remember to build up chakra into your feet and constantly focus it at that point. From there, you just adjust the amount until it's about the same in both feet. This will help you maintain your balance. After that…"

Ebisu calmly advanced at a brisk pace onto the water's surface. He even jumped a few times to show that he was in complete control.

"Easy, now you try," requested Ebisu.

Naruto did the same steps as Ebisu, although he didn't have to think about them very much. With the greatest of ease, Naruto too strode onto the water's surface. The blond placed his hand behind his head sheepishly when Ebisu gave him a round of applauds.

"Excellent! Well done, Naruto! Since you mastered this so quickly, we'll be able to move on to phase two," announced Ebisu.

"Alright! As long as I'm done before the week is up this'll be a clinch!" predicted Naruto happily.

The blond then noticed something behind Ebisu. Ebisu turned towards were Naruto was staring to find an old man peeking into the ladies bath. Ebisu smirked.

"I wouldn't do such unsightly things while I'm here. I won't allow it, old man!" declared Ebisu while rushing at the stranger.

As quick as lightening, the old guy twirled around and smirked.

"Don't be such a square!" he said while making a seal.

In a poof of smoke, a big orange and blue toad appeared beneath him. Ebisu gave a startled start. The toad's tongue then shot forward and wrapped tightly around Ebisu's waist. Ebisu barely had time to scream before he found himself sailing into the air. He landed with a splash somewhere behind the waterfall. The old guy laughed.

"Poor chap, you shouldn't interfere with my research like that!" teased the old guy.

Naruto's mouth dropped open in awe. From what he could see, the old guy had long spiky white hair that extended to his ankles. He was wearing a dark red vest over a lime green ninja costume. He had arm and leg guards that looked like nets. He had a net shirt on beneath his costume as well. The old guy's black eyes were playful, but wise as well. There was a skin colored mole on his nose and red stripes under his eyes. He grinned at Naruto's surprised look.

"_Who is that? He not only sent Ebisu flying, but he's an even bigger hentai too!_" thought the blond.

Just as he was debating whether all perverts seemed to be stronger than they let on, Ebisu came screaming down the waterfall. He floated in the hot springs with swirls in his eyes. Naruto sweat dropped.

"Hey, who are you, old man!?" demanded Naruto.

"How kind of you to ask! I am the Myouboku Mountain Monk of the toad sprits! Also known as the great toad hermit, Jiraiya-dono!" the old guy struck a pose.

"Toad hermit?" echoed Naruto.

"Correct!"

The toad he was riding on vanished in a poof of smoke. He landed and started dancing.

"A writer I am! The proud author of this!" the old guy produced a orange book from his vest.

"No way! You wrote Icha Icha Paradise!?" exclaimed Naruto.

"Haha, so you've heard of me! I can't say that I'm surprised," said Jiraiya with a grin.

"That's that naughty book Kakashi-sensei's always reading! Research my ass! I bet you came here to peek at the girls!" cried Naruto accusingly.

The bathing girls must've heard him, since they immediately bolted screaming from the bath.

"NOO! Look at what you did!" wailed Jiraiya with teary eyes.

"Ah quit ya bitching, you pervert!" snapped Naruto.

"Who are you calling a pervert, brat!? I'm just inspired to write better novels when I'm peeking!" shot back the old guy.

"Yeah yeah, anyway what are you going to do about my training!? Thanks to you I'm being delayed from ditching that guy already!" cried Naruto while pointing at Ebisu's submerged body.

"Hmp, I could care less about your training, brat!" spat the old guy while walking past him.

"Now just a damn minute! The least you can do is help me out with my chakra control before that guys wakes up and tell him that I'm good at it!" shouted Naruto.

"As if! I wouldn't do squat for a punk like you!" snapped Jiraiya.

"Aw come on! You would deny a big fan of your book his golden escape?" asked Naruto.

"You little liar! Anyone under the age of eighteen can't view or purchase my books," grumbled Jiraiya. "Anyway I wasted enough time with you. Later, kid."

The old guy formed a seal and vanished in a gust of wind.

"Cool! Hey old dude, you can make it up to me by showing me how to do that!" requested Naruto before dashing at high speed in the direction of Jiraiya's chakra force.

Ebisu remained forgotten in the spring water…

* * *

Naruto ended up following the old man's energy to the village's square. Warily he looked around for him.

"Damn him, where did that old guy get to?" grumbled the blond to himself.

A loud scream from a nearby sweet shop caught his attention.

"Don't touch my ass, you perverted old man!" cried a woman's voice.

The unmistakable sound of a slap rang out afterwards, Naruto sighed, that was his target no doubt. A flustered woman and Jiraiya himself exited the shop.

"I'm sorry, but you have some incredible things there!" complimented Jiraiya with a drool, there was a hand print on his face as well.

"Pervert!" screamed the lady before smacking his other cheek.

She then stormed away in a huff. Naruto frowned at the sight, but approached the toad hermit anyway.

"Ah, such perky young girls! It makes me want to reach into…" begun Jiraiya before a loud 'ahem' drew his attention.

"You are such a pervert you know that. Some of these girls will knock your teeth out if you keep that up," interrupted Naruto.

"Ah, it's that kid again!" cried Jiraiya in alarm.

"You got that right and I'm holding you responsible for my training, old man!" declared the blond while pointing at him.

Quickly Jiraiya seized his arm and flipped Naruto over his shoulder like a piece of trash. The blond sailed head first into a barrel. The old guy proceeded to put the lid on it and sealed it with a nearby rock.

"There, that'll hold you for a while," said Jiraiya before calmly striding away.

Naruto screamed and pounded on his container in outrage…

It was some ten minutes of nonstop hollering later before Naruto heard someone removing the stone from his confinement. The blond immediately popped out of the barrel, gasping for air.

"Damn that geezer! I'm going to kill him!" cried Naruto angrily. "Hey thanks for helping me out, buddy!" said the blond without looking at his rescuer, as he tried to climb out of the barrel.

"No problem, Naruto," replied a familiar voice.

Naruto froze and looked up with a embarrassed grin.

"Hey Genmaru. Um, about the barrel…I can explain," begun Naruto with a sweat drop.

"I'm not sure if I really want to know," said Genmaru with an amused smile.

The misty eyed ninja helped Naruto out of the barrel. Once freed the blond started shaking his legs to get his blood flowing again, it was cramped in there. Genmaru waited patiently for him to finish before speaking.

"I don't mean to be abrupt, but did you ask him?" asked Genmaru with a meaningful look.

"Yep, Kakashi-sensei said it was A okay! I just need to do some basic training first and I'm home free," replied Naruto before giving a start. "Ah, he's getting away! Look I've got to run, were should I meet you when we start training?"

"Just meet me at training field number eight, six days from today. Think you'll have your basic training exercises done by then?" asked Genmaru.

"No problem. See you in a week!" cried Naruto over his shoulder as he took off running in the direction of Jiraiya's chakra force…

* * *

Naruto stumbled across the old guy in the forest. He was taking a smoke from his pipe with his eyes closed. His back was resting against the trunk of a toppled tree. A glint appeared in the Naruto's eyes and he ducked behind some bushes.

"_It's payback time, old man. I'm going to find out how strong you really are,_" mused Naruto while producing a pair of shuriken.

The blond hurled them at the old guy. His eyes snapped open and he effortlessly pulled off a somersault to cover behind the tree he was leaning against. In a flash of speed, Naruto appeared standing on top of that same tree with a kunai ready for action. He was stunned to find a statue of a monkey in the old guy's place.

"Kawarimi eh? Not bad old man! But I'll get you yet, then you'll have to train me!" declared Naruto before taking off into the woods in search of him.

Once Naruto was gone, the statue went up in smoke to become Jiraiya again. The blond had been tricked!

"Heh, foolish brat. You'll need a million years of training before you can fight me," said Jiraiya to himself with a relieved sigh.

"You sure about that?" came Naruto's voice from behind him.

Jiraiya turned around to find the blond glaring right at him. He sighed.

"Alright alright! Sit down with me, let's talk!" pleaded the old guy while raising his hands in surrender.

The blond took him up on his offer and waited patiently for him to say something. After taking a few drags on his pipe, Jiraiya looked at the kid.

"You have a good deal of potential. You move very well for someone wearing arm weights," commented the old guy.

"Yep, so are you going to train me or not?" asked Naruto without beating around the bushes.

"Only if you do something for me first," replied the old guy. "Bring me a curvy 'fruit' that has matured nicely, if you catch my drift."

"Perfect, I saw some of those on the way here. I'll be back in two minutes okay? Wait here," instructed the blond before dashing off towards the village.

The old guy took another drag on his pipe and was just about to sit down when he caught movement out the corner of his eye. Two very well proportioned babes where taking a stroll through the woods. Jiraiya grinned, the big bad wolf was on the prowl!

"Sorry kid, I didn't promise that I would wait," said the perverted hermit before chasing after the girls.

* * *

Naruto found the old guy hanging out at a tea shop. He was entertaining two pretty girls with stories he had heard.

"You old geezer! I told you to wait for me in the forest!" yelled the blond.

"Oh great…what is it, kid?" grumbled Jiraiya once Naruto came to a stop.

"Here's the thing you wanted. Now train me!" demanded Naruto while holding out a curvy and mature watermelon.

The old guy slapped his forehead.

"You nitwit! That wasn't what I meant!" he cried before throwing the melon into the air.

With the greatest of ease, he sliced the fruit into a healthy snack using a kunai. The pieces landed neatly on the table he was sitting at. Naruto and the girls gave a round of applauds. They then dug into the treat…

Sometime later the girls excused themselves to the bathroom, leaving Naruto and the old guy alone. Naruto gave him a meaningful look.

"What did you have planned for my training?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Nothing, that's what!" snapped Jiraiya.

"Hello, we had a deal remember!?" reminded Naruto.

"You dork! I wanted hot women like the ones you saw!"

"Oh, is that all? Why didn't you say so earlier?" asked Naruto before getting up and forming a seal. "Henge!"

Naruto went up in a poof of smoke. It cleared to reveal him as his perky female counterpart. Much to the old guy's pleasure, everything was visible this time.

"Oh my god!" cried Jiraiya while ogling every square inch of Naruto.

"Please don't stare so much, sir. I'm getting so embarrassed," moaned Naruto seductively while smiling shyly.

The old guy flashed the thumbs up.

"Hell yeah! Ten out of ten!" cried Jiraiya. "You're just what I've been looking for! What do you call this technique?"

Naruto sweat dropped at the way he was looking at him. The blonde had a feeling that this guy wanted to gobble him up.

"Oiroke no Jutsu, sir. Do you like what you see?" asked Naruto seductively.

"Do I ever!" cried Jiraiya with a drool. "You're brilliant!"

"Then, will you supervise my training?" asked Naruto with starry eyed cuteness.

"Yes yes yes! I have only one condition," replied Jiraiya excitedly.

"Condition? What kind of condition?" asked Naruto sadly while gently sucking on his fingertip.

The perverted hermit got a nose bleed and starting twiddling his fingers excitedly.

"You must stay in that form whenever you are around me," he requested.

Naruto felt a vein throb in his temple. He then went up into a poof of smoke and glared at the old man in his regular form.

"You are one big ass pervert, you know that!?" shouted Naruto in irritation.

"Shut up! I'm no ordinary pervert!" shot back Jiraiya before grinning like a maniac. "I'm a super pervert!" he declared with a laugh.

Naruto trembled in defeat.

"_Darn him…he openly admitted it_."

* * *

Naruto and the old guy went to Naruto's makeshift training area. The blond stared at him expectantly.

"Let's see, you already can climb trees and walk on water right? Then the only chakra control exercise that's left for you is the balance training," said the old man.

"Balance training?" asked the blond.

"That's right, out of the three chakra control exercises this is the most difficult. What I want you to do, is try to focus as little chakra as possible into your fingertip and balance on it for a least one hour," requested Jiraiya.

"Is that physically possible?" asked the blond in awe.

"Of course it is. You can walk on water can't you?" replied Jiraiya as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Okay, now the exercise is impossible to do if you focus too much chakra. You'll get launched into the air every single time. That's why only really small amounts are required. If you're ready to start, I'll demonstrate."

Naruto gave the go ahead.

"Okay, I'll use this rock as a base. First gather chakra directly to the tip of your finger. From there, collaborate it until only a bare minimum is noticeable. You should feel a slight tingling sensation, if you do then you have the correct amount. After that…"

Jiraiya easily supported his entire body weight directly on his index finger alone! Naruto's eyes grew as big as saucers. The old guy smirked at the sight and flipped back onto his feet after a minute had passed.

"If you can handle that for one hour, then you have gained mastery of chakra control," declared the hermit.

"Okay! I'll give it a shot!" said Naruto.

The blond closed his eyes and gathered chakra into his fingertip. Just as the old guy promised, a slight tingling overtook his finger. The blond opened his eyes and placed his finger on top of the rock. He then attempted to center his weight on his finger, only to fall flat on his back. Jiraiya started laughing his head off at the sight of the stupefied blond.

"Damn it!" hissed Naruto while rolling over and rising to try again.

"That was funny, kid! Land on your head next time!" teased the old guy.

"Aw, shut up, old man! I just had a setback!" tenuously justified Naruto in embarrassment.

The blond took off his jacket and attempted to try again.

"Hey, hold on a second, kid. You won't be able to properly control your chakra like that! Come here for a second," requested the hermit.

Naruto grumbled a bit, but he did as requested.

"Okay, lift up your shirt and mold some chakra for me."

Naruto frowned in confusion, but did as requested. Little did Naruto know, Jiraiya was staring at his stomach expectantly. Just as it did in the Forest of Death, the seal on Naruto's stomach became visible. The old guy narrowed his eyes.

"_So this is how the fox was sealed away. Since it's a four season type seal, it'll allow the kid to access the Nine Tail's chakra. But what's this?_"

The old guy frowned at the seal Orochimaru had inflicted.

"_A five element seal has been placed over it. Since one is an even numbered seal and the other is odd, the Nine Tail's chakra has been blocked completely. Without it, even if the kid learns to control his own chakra it won't do him much good if he can't control the fox's chakra with it. Their chakras naturally mix at all time, it wouldn't surprise me if the kid felt weaker than normal right now,_" observed the old guy.

Jiraiya rose to his full height and cracked his knuckles.

"_Judging by how rare this seal is, I'm betting that Orochimaru did it. Still alive eh, old boy?_"

Jiraiya reared back his hand. Tiny blue flames appeared on his fingertips. Quickly, he thrust his hand at the same nerves Orochimaru struck.

"Gogyo Kaiin!" cried the old guy.

Naruto's stomach erupted into extreme pain as his nerves once again started burning. However, unlike the constant pain that knocked him out when Orochimaru did his seal, this pain passed pretty quickly. Naruto's stomach still hurt like hell though. The old guy smirked when the symbols from Orochimaru's seal vanished completely. Naruto's shirt then fell down hiding the regular seal from view.

"Damn it! Why did you do that!?" groaned Naruto painfully.

"Ah lighten up kid, it was just a tap to toughen you up! Take a break for a moment and try again okay?" requested the old guy with a wink. "_Thanks to the Five Element Unseal technique your regular chakra should restore to full in a few minutes_."

Naruto grumpily did as asked, but something felt different. He couldn't place his finger on it, but Naruto was certain that something familiar had came back to him…

* * *

Domino skidded to halt after being knocked back by Sagitario. She sank to her knees and started breathing heavily. As part of her training, Sagitario had asked Gai to assist in developing Domino's Taijutsu skills. The results was an explosive two on one match that Domino was losing very badly. Domino preferred it that way, it was a constant remainder to her that she wasn't invincible. It also enabled her to prepare for two different methods of attacks at the same time.

Sagitario would stick to using mostly Ninjutsu and the occasional high speed uppercut when it looked like Domino's guard was down. Gai on the other hand was constantly keeping her on her toes with in your face Taijutsu moves. One thing for certain, they were giving the lavender eyed girl quite a workout. Domino smirked before becoming enveloped in an aura of chakra. She then stood up as the earth rose up to form her stone combat suit.

"That'll do it, for the warm up!" said Domino as her wings sprouted from her back…

* * *

Naruto resumed the balance training with total determination. Just as he had been instructed by the perverted hermit, Naruto gathered chakra into his finger until he felt the tingle. He then tried to center his weight on his index finger alone. All seemed well for the first ten seconds, then his chakra suddenly surged launching him nine feet into air. The blond cried out in alarm before pulling off a summersault to safety.

"Darn it, what happened?" Naruto hissed.

"That would be a discharge release," replied Jiraiya.

"Discharge release?" echoed the blond.

"Yes, the body will forcefully expel chakra from the area were the concentration is smallest. This occurs every ten seconds respectively. Hence the point of this exercise. Your goal will be to redirect the discharge to a different area of your body without losing concentration, in the slightest, on the minimum amount of chakra gathered in your finger," explained Jiraiya.

"How do I do something like that?" asked the blond.

"Well ordinarily these discharges only occur once every twenty minutes. However, the fact that you have two chakras makes this process more frequent. To counter it, you must suppress it as much as possible. The weights you wear help somewhat with this," hinted Jiraiya.

"I see," said Naruto before wordlessly gathering and securing two particularly large stones to his legs.

It was fortunate that he had brought some thick cables with him that day. So with a little help from Jiraiya, securing them was a simple chore. He then proceeded to attempt the balance exercise once more…

* * *

The sun was beginning to set by the time Naruto had gotten the hang of the chakra discharge. Other than being launched into the air seven more times, which each failed attempt lasting longer than the last, Naruto had done it. He only needed to last for one more minute to have gained mastery of his chakra control.

His body was completely drenched in sweat and he had to shake his head several times to keep the salty fluid out of his eyes. Naruto's teeth were gritted due to the feel of the weight on his finger. The chakra had keep most of the pain at bay, but as he neared the goal his finger was beginning to hurt. Regardless of all the distractions, Naruto's mind remained completely focused on only two things. Maintaining the chakra in his finger and the nearing discharge release.

"_Eight…nine…ten…now!_" thought Naruto before closing his eyes.

Naruto extended his free hand straight out to the side and then, without losing focus on his chakra, redirected the discharge to that hand instead. Naruto slowly exhaled and opened his eyes. Just two more discharges to go and he was clear.

Jiraiya smirked once Naruto finished off the last twenty seconds. Naruto flipped gracefully onto his feet and cheered.

"_Looks like now is a good time to teach him how to control the Nine Tail's chakra,_" thought Jiraiya. "Nice work kid, now come here for a minute."

The blond did so with a huge grin on his face.

"Since you did so well and worked really hard these past few hours, I'm going to show you a technique that I have in store for you," declared the old guy.

"Yeah! What is it!?" asked Naruto while bouncing with excitement.

"Now now, there's something you should know first. You may not realize it, but you have two types of chakra."

"Two types?" echoed Naruto.

"Yes, have you ever felt any special kind of chakra in you before?"

"Hm, come to think of it there was this one time in Wave when chakra was gushing out of me. I felt really really strong at that time too. I don't remember it too well, but it was completely different from my usual chakra," reminisced the blond.

"Go on," pressed the old man.

"Well, If I compared it to a color mine would be blue but that one would be red," described Naruto.

"Interesting. Tell you what kid, we'll begin learning your new technique tomorrow. In the meantime, what say you to a hot spring bath tonight?" asked the old guy.

"Sure, that'll be great!" agreed Naruto happily.

With that, the two headed for the nearest bathhouse…

* * *

"Ah, this feels nice…" sighed Naruto as he soaked in the hot water.

The open sky was filled with stars as nightfall fell. Jiraiya drained a cup of sake with a satisfied ah.

"Drinking after training always tastes great! One day you'll get to experience it, young lad," said the old guy.

"I'm not sure about the drinking. But out of curiosity, what is this special move you're going to teach me like?" asked the blond.

"You'll find out tomorrow, but know this. All of your chakra control will be pushed to the limit," replied the hermit.

Naruto nodded in understanding and turned his attention to the old guy's toad familiar. It shot a spray of water into the air. Oddly enough, the sight was really beautiful as the water seemed to dance with the stars.

"We'll be bathing with a cooked toad if he stays in too much longer!" joked Jiraiya.

He and Naruto both laughed. Life was good…

* * *

The old guy was keeping watch over his new found student as he slept. It was hard not to grow attached to the kid. Jiraiya stiffened when he sensed a presence in front of him. Ebisu strode forward and leaned next to him on the handrails.

"Sorry, Ebisu. Looks like I stole one of your students," jested Jiraiya with a wink.

"It's okay. But I am surprised to see you here. You know, Hokage-sama has been looking for you," said Ebisu quietly.

"Did you tell the Third about me?" asked Jiraiya while glancing out the corner of his eye.

"Not yet," replied Ebisu.

"Good. Leave it that way," said the old guy quietly.

"The reason you came back. Is it because of Orochimaru?" asked Ebisu.

"Not really. I only came here to get some ideas for my novel. I have no intention of getting too involved in something so troublesome," replied the hermit.

"Please, think of what you're saying! To stop Orochimaru, only one of the Legendary Sannins can fight him! The Dragon Clan is doing what they can, but they aren't able to get involved due to how little information we have to go on! Only you can really act right now, surely you've heard something about Orochimaru's activities!?"

"I can't say that I have. Sorry sport, but I don't know anything more than you about Orochimaru," replied Jiraiya seriously.

"I understand," said Ebisu before straightening up and walking to the stairs.

Ebisu paused and glanced over his shoulder at Jiraiya, now in a state of deep thought.

"Jiraiya-sama…I still have faith in you."

With that, Ebisu descended the stairs. Jiraiya returned his gaze to Naruto's sleeping figure…

* * *

The moonlight lit up the vast expanse of the wonderful ocean. Elaine sighed contently at the feel of the waves rolling over her bare feet. The fresh smell of the sea was comforting to her body, allowing it to stay relaxed. The advantage of living in Fire Country was that the beaches were never more than an hour's walk away from the village. She was glad that she had chosen this place to train.

"_Training…that's right, I have to get stronger before the main matches start,_" mused Elaine while inhaling a wonderful breeze that had picked up with her eyes closed.

Once it passed, Elaine withdrew a shiny object from inside her shirt. She started at it fondly before gently pressing it to her heart and closing her eyes as if in prayer. Slowly the object begun to glow a brilliant shade of green. From a bystander's point of view, it looked like a vapor of mist was swirling around Elaine's body…

* * *

It was bright the next morning when Naruto once again met up with Jiraiya for training. This time, Jiraiya chose the training ground. It was _conviently_ situated behind some scrubs near an all ladies hotel, next to its' private waterfall. Jiraiya drooled as a trio of perky women came out to frolic in the water wearing sexy bikinis.

"Very nice!" murmured Jiraiya with a perverted laugh.

"Dude, can't you admire them later?! I'm trying to train here!" grumbled Naruto with a frown of annoyance.

"Aw pipe down, kid. They look like they're enjoying themselves!" the old guy blushed as the girls splashed each other.

"Dude!!" cried Naruto a bit louder.

Jiraiya ignored him and gasped in excitement. The girl wearing the white bikini was just wet enough for him to see a pair of…

A pair of soft and elegant hands blocked his eyes from view.

"Please look at me, Jiraiya-sama. If you help me with my training, I'll do something really nice for you," moaned the seductive voice of Naruto's sexy transformation.

Just as expected the pervert grew flushed with excitement.

"At last you're here! I've been waiting for you, my sweet!" cried Jiraiya before prying Naruto's hands away and spinning around.

He was too late however, Naruto had already reverted back to his normal form. The blond was tapping his foot impatiently with his arms folded.

"Well it's about time! Let's get started already!" demanded Naruto with a frown.

"Aw poo, no fair! I don't even get a peek?" begged Jiraiya.

"Hell no! Training comes first, pervert!" shot down Naruto.

The frolicking girls had left too. With a sigh of defeat, Jiraiya sat moodily in front of the blond.

"Okay okay, let's get started. First, do you remember the conversation we had yesterday about the two kinds of chakra?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Naruto curiously.

"You said that your power was greatest when using red chakra right? For this technique to work effectively, I need you to be able to tap into that chakra at will."

"Well, okay but I don't think I can right now," said Naruto thoughtfully. "But I'll try."

The blond closed his eyes and clenched his fists by his side. Almost instantly, a huge aura of blue chakra erupted forth. Jiraiya literally had to lean against the outward force to avoid being blown over. Compared to before, Naruto's power seemed to have risen dramatically!

"_Excellent! Restoring the seal back to normal released the kid's dormant power. But the chakra he's using still doesn't seem strong enough. He has to learn how to bring forth the fox's chakra,_" thought Jiraiya with a smirk. "Okay, you can stop now, kid," ordered Jiraiya.

The blond did so and opened his eyes while exhaling. The force he felt was incredible, whatever the hermit did to him had made him stronger than ever.

"That was a impressive display of power kid, but it wasn't the chakra I was looking for. Tell me, have you had chakra build up training before?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yep, that's why I'm wearing the weights!" replied the blond with a grin. "But out of curiously, how are the technique you're going to teach me and the red chakra related?"

"Okay, listen up. The move I'm going to teach you, is one of several that require massive amounts of chakra to execute to its' fullest potential. Although your current chakra isn't that far off, it still isn't quite strong enough. That's why for now, we must use the red chakra instead," explained Jiraiya. "One other thing to note is that the red chakra is one of your strongest weapons, even outside of this technique. Now that you know how to control your chakra, we need you to be able to use it for power techniques."

"I see," said Naruto thoughtfully.

"Good, now prepare yourself. The technique I'm going to teach you is the Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes widened in glee.

"You mean, I'll be able to summon animals and weapons?! Cool, let's start!" cried Naruto excitedly.

"Sure but first I need you to use up all of your normal chakra. That way, you'll only be able to call on the red chakra for the summoning," instructed Jiraiya.

"Yeah, you got it!" consented Naruto before forming a seal. "Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clearing filled with over fifty Narutos. Jiraiya grinned.

"_The Shadow Clones eh? To be able to use it at such a young age is impressive, but not surprising coming from you, Naruto,_" mused the old man.

One Naruto spun around and backed away from the others. This was obviously the real one.

"Listen up, guys! I want all of you to attack me at the same time! This way, not only will my Taijutsu skills improve, but we'll get rid of all of this chakra as well!" ordered the original. "So we'll be able to tell each other apart, I won't wear my jacket!"

"Okay, let's do it!" agreed all of the clones before surrounding the original and dropping into various combat poses.

The real Naruto smiled confidently and removed his jacket. Once done, he tossed it into the winds. The moment it hit the ground, the clearing filled to the point of blinding with the auras of over fifty Narutos. Rocks fragments rose into the air as all fifty Narutos rushed the original at once…

* * *

Everything looked hazy as his eyes slowly opened. It was strange, his body felt weak but there was no pain. He did took note of the constant beeping coming from some machine next to him. It was a heart-respiratory monitor. Next to that was a long metal pole with a bag of some clear liquid dangling from it. A long tube extended from the bag to a vein in his arm. The name on the medicine bag read Uchiha Sasuke.

"_How long was I sleeping?_" wondered Sasuke warily.

His eyes begun to close and tiredness almost claimed him again until he jerked upright with a start.

"_The Chuunin exam, and the sealing Jutsu Kakashi performed!_"

Out of habit he grasped the site of the Cursed Seal, but there was no pain. Not even so much as minor burning sensation hinted that the seal was even active. Just to make sure, Sasuke tried reaching the creature with his mind. Each time he tried, it would never respond. Sasuke felt relieved yet oddly saddened by the lost. He didn't dwell on it very long though.

Unceremoniously, Sasuke yanked the tube free of his arm. He then pulled aside the sheets covering him and let his legs dangle on the side of the bed. He sat like this and begun to take in the rest of the room. It wasn't very big, and the walls were white enough to nearly blind his still adjusting eyes. Other than the medical equipment, only a small desk, a stool and a wooden closet was present. The were two rows of curtain less windows that let the brightening rays of the afternoon sun filter into the room. A sliding metal door was the only entrance.

Sasuke sighed and reached out with his senses. From what he could tell, there were a lot of people wondering the halls. No doubt most of them were doctors and nurses. As Sasuke didn't plan on spending another moment confined in this room, he knew that walking out the front door wasn't an option. As quietly as possible, he stood up on limbs that seemed a little reluctant to support his weight. Using the walls for support, Sasuke made his way to the closet and opened it.

Thankfully his regular clothes were inside. It would've been embarrassing to have to walk around in a hospital gown that showed off his boxers from behind. He quickly dressed and moved to the windows. Sasuke thanked his lucky stars upon finding that he could open them. Better yet was that his room was on the first floor of the building. Without a second thought, Sasuke climbed out of the window to freedom…

"Getting some fresh air, Sasuke-kun?" asked a voice the minute Sasuke's feet touched the grass.

"Something like that. Are you going to tell…Sagitario-sensei?" asked Sasuke without turning around.

"No, Sasuke-kun. Frankly I didn't see anything at all," replied Sagitario.

Sasuke knew that the green haired ninja was smiling, he could hear it.

"Where is…?" begun Sasuke.

"Kakashi? Well, I've been asked to pass a message along to you when you woke up. He was very perceptive in assuming that you would try to sneak out," cut in Sagitario humorously.

Sasuke turned towards him and stared in a way that said 'well?'

"Kakashi is going to train you for the upcoming Chuunin tournament, a little less than two months from now. He asks that you meet him atop the Canyon of Death. I've already secured you permission to venture outside of the village. Kakashi will be arriving there today in about two hours so you've best hurry if you want to catch him," briefed Sagitario before handing Sasuke a gate pass, a full water bottle and some dried fruits.

Sasuke took them gratefully and smirked. Looked like he had advanced to the final stage after all. He couldn't wait to get started…

* * *

Naruto tensed as four of his clones surrounded him on all sides. Naruto's head was a blur as he bobbed and weaved to avoid four pairs of high speed fists. Unexpectedly, Naruto ducked and swept all eight of his assailants legs from under them. He then took to the air only to be caught in a flying tackle by another clone. The two hit the ground with Naruto landing on his back. He quickly used his feet to launch his captor into another clone that was standing behind him. They went up in smoke.

Naruto kicked up and immediately lashed out at a waiting clone. It caught Naruto's fist and tried to flip him onto his back. Naruto pulled a Genmaru and reversed the move back onto the clone, it went up into smoke. Naruto felt one of the clones latch onto his back from behind, four more were approaching to dish out some pain. Action on instinct, Naruto let his captor hold the majority of his weight while he lashed out catching two of the clones in the chest with his feet. Naruto then using his added momentum, flung his captor over his shoulder into the other two clones. All five of them went up in smoke.

Another clone appeared in a burst of speed and axe kicked Naruto into the air. Two more appeared above him and hurled a swarm of shuriken at him. Unable to defending himself in midair, Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face. The pain was intense, but not fatal. Once the wave passed, Naruto countered with a pair of his own kunai at the crafty clones. They went up in smoke.

Naruto then focused on the forty other clones waiting for a chance to strike. Naruto grinned and formed a prayer seal.

"Boom."

The clone that had kicked him earlier detonated thanks to the exploding note Naruto had planted on his leg. With him went fifteen more clones for a total of sixteen. Now that the blond had a safe spot to land, he hurled a few smoke pellets at that spot to further confuse the clones. Naruto then vanished into the smoke veil. Unwilling to risk getting sneak attacked, the remaining clones took to the air and hurled several dozen waves of kunai at the smoke covered area. They all landed around the impact point and waited to see what became of Naruto.

When the smoke cleared, only a knife covered log was visible. Naruto had used the Kawarimi to escape! All of the clones begun to warily seek out their creator. It didn't help matters that the real Naruto had suppressed his chakra, hiding his aura from view. The element of surprise Naruto had gained was proving to be quite deadly for the vulnerable clones.

Some scrubs begun to rustle at that moment. Quickly, all of the clones readied some kunai for an all out assault. They weren't prepared for the person who emerged from them.

"There you are! I've been searching everywhere for you, Naruto!" said Sakura with a frown on her face.

The clones instantly went goo-goo gaga over her arrival. Four of them excitedly ran to see what she wanted. They were no more than fifteen paces away from her when another exploding note went off. It had been a concealed trap. By covering one with some leaves, a handy landmine had been formed! The four clones went flying before going up in smoke. Sakura then transformed into Naruto!

"Hah, you fell for it!" he teased the remaining twenty-two clones.

The fuming clones proceeded to hurl their readied kunai at the laughing blond. Naruto quickly withdrew and wrapped himself in his camouflaged covering. The flying knives sailed harmlessly through the spot the now invisible Naruto had been standing. Once more, Naruto had the element of total surprise. So intent were the clones on their surrounding, that they never noticed Naruto removing his veil directly in the mist of them!

Naruto sweep the leg of one clone and seized it in midair. He then went into a stumbling, spinning dance using his snared prey as a battering ram. Seven more clones were dispelled, including his makeshift weapon, before the other clones wised up to Naruto's presence. One clone rushed Naruto with a haymaker that definitely would've knocked him out if he hadn't leaned back into a roll. Naruto then boosted off with his arms to score a strong exploder into the chest of a clone that had been behind him. Naruto rebounded off of that clone into a quick forward flip that ended in a very Sasuke like heel kick onto the head of the clone Naruto knew was going to attack him beforehand. They both went up in smoke.

Naruto straightened up and looked around. He still had eleven more clones to defeat and none of them were going to make it easy for him. What's worst was that his aura was starting to flicker, the dangerous sign of nearly depleted chakra. If that happened, then the only way to win this battle would be to take a sever pounding and strike whenever and opening presented itself. Naruto wasn't going to let that happen.

He grimaced as another clone appeared in a flash for a power punch. Naruto jumped forward and thrust, catching the clone's fist. Thanks to the force of Naruto's forward lunge, he was able to pull the clone down onto its' neck causing it to go up in smoke. Naruto only just rose to his full height before feeling the fury of eight high speed punches to the face and body. The blond staggered tiredly backwards into the arms of a waiting clone. Before the clone could get a solid grip, Naruto raised his arms and slipped through its' grasp like water. Naruto was a blur as he whipped around and rammed his elbow into his would be captor's cheek. He went up in smoke.

Naruto stiffened as a clone rushed him from the front and from behind. Quickly Naruto kneeled and put to practice his chakra control. He was launched several feet into the air out of harm's way. Two more clones high jumped after him with their fists reared back. Naruto reached into his rear pant pocket and in a fluid move, hurled two pairs of kunai with ultra thin wires attached to them. The results were both clones getting cut in two by the almost blade like wire weapons. They went up in smoke.

Naruto landed and immediately attempted high speed movement. Instead, he sank to one knee while breathing heavily. Naruto ran out of chakra!

"_Shoot!_" thought Naruto before his legs were tackled from behind.

The blond screamed in pain as two clones appeared in a flash of speed and axe kicked him straight into the air at the same time. Naruto knew what was coming next, the clones were going to attempt his Gakeppuchi combo on him! Unwilling to go down like that, Naruto quickly hurled a kunai with an exploding note straight up to where he knew the heel kicking clone was going to show up. It fell for the counter completely and could only cry out in alarm when the note blew up in its' face.

Naruto shielded himself from the shockwave that followed the explosion. He grunted as five of the six remaining clones leaped up and seized Naruto's arms, legs, and one of them latched onto his back. The last clone then appeared in a flash of speed with its' arm reared back for the finishing blow. Naruto quickly pressed his finger tips to the clones that were holding his arms and squeezed as much chakra as he could manage into his fingers. The results were two clones being blasted away to land painfully on their backs, turning into smoke in the process. With his arms free again, Naruto caught his attacker's fist in mid-punch and bopped him one right in the nose. It went up in smoke.

Naruto grinned, although his clones were easily faster than him now. They still had the weakness of being unable to use that speed in midair. They were as vulnerable as sitting ducks rights now. Naruto made to reach into his pouch for some kunai, but the clone on his back shifted its' grip to that of a strangle hold. Unable to move his arms, the clones on his legs broke away and aimed two heavy kicks into his stomach for a boost off. Naruto cried out in pain as he was also shot higher into the air as a result.

The clone on his back then pulled backwards until Naruto was upside down. The blond gulped, he was in for a twenty-two foot drop as a result of his own Power Bomb attack. Using all the strength Naruto had in his body, he desperately snapped his arms free of the clones grasp. Quickly Naruto went into a spin and wrapped his arm around the throat of the clone. Naruto pulled cutting the clones air while at the same time digging his heels into its' back. Less than a second before impact with the ground, Naruto boosted off of the clone's back and drew a pair of kunai. The clone smashed into the earth with a boom while Naruto skidded to a halt a few feet away.

A clone appeared behind Naruto with a kunai in hand and tried to thrust it into his crouching creator's left leg. Naruto had long since sensed him and quickly lifted his leg causing the clone to miss. Naruto then smashed his raised foot onto the clone's hand and spun into a backhand. The pinned down clone went up into smoke. Naruto rose and turned to face the last clone determinedly. Both of them were breathing heavily from lack of chakra.

The clone vanished in a flash of speed to deliver an axe kick to Naruto's chin. Naruto's head snapped back from what appeared to be a successful hit. However, Naruto had really performed a backwards moon vault with his arms spread. Naruto quickly hurled his kunai at the clone before he touched down. The clone avoided them in a flash of speed. He reappeared behind Naruto with his leg raised for a overhead kick. Naruto spun around and blocked it with his forearm. He then seized the clone's leg and went into several spins. Once enough momentum had been gathered, Naruto hurled the clone into the air.

The replica quickly hurled wave after wave of kunai with exploding tags attached in retaliation. Naruto dashed as fast his legs would allow in an effort to evade the deadly counterattack. At some point, Naruto found himself heading towards a stone wall that was the support structure for the all ladies hotel. Naruto sped up and ran up the side of the wall for about nine steps before boosting off towards the still airborne clone. Naruto drew a kunai for the finishing blow. The clone seeing no way out of the situation, held up one last exploding tag in front of himself for a suicide finish.

Naruto gasped and quickly shielded as much of himself as he could before a large explosion rang out. The shockwave sent Naruto flying back into the stone wall with several burned hairs. Naruto cried out in pain before slumping warily to the floor. Naruto was battered, but for the most part he was okay. The war of the clones had been won…

* * *

Jiraiya grinned as the battled concluded. Although it wasn't the most graceful style the old man had ever seen, the blond was impressively skilled at making use of the environment during combat. The kid had the potential to become a real Taijutsu specialist with enough training. Calmly, he rose and strode towards Naruto's exhausted frame.

"Well done, Naruto. Looks like nearly all of your chakra is gone. We can now put the Summoning Jutsu to practice," announced Jiraiya. "When you're ready, I'll begin the demonstration."

Naruto rose tiredly to a sitting position and looked up expectantly.

"Okay, watch carefully."

Jiraiya bit his thumb until blood begun to seep out. He then rubbed some onto the palm of his hand. Once finished, he formed several seals that ended with him rearing back his blood covered palm for the finish.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he cried while slamming his palm to the ground.

The summoning seal appeared around Jiraiya and erupted into a poof of smoke. When it cleared, Jiraiya stood atop another orange and blue toad with his arms folded. Naruto's eyes twinkled in excitement as the toad extended its' tongue to present him with a giant scroll. Naruto accepted it.

"What you hold in your hands Naruto, is the contract that will enable you to summon the toad spirits to aid you. Understand that as far as animal summons go, once you sign this contract you will not be able to switch to another. If you're prepared, sign your name in your own blood and press your fingertips beneath it," instructed Jiraiya.

Naruto did as instructed after biting his thumb. The moment he completed the ritual with his fingertips, a strange sense of wisdom momentarily entered his head. The wisdom of the toads that is. It faded quickly though and Naruto was left feeling no different than before.

"Good, now using the hand you used to sign the contract mold chakra into it and place it where you want the summon to appear. The seals are boar, dog, bird, monkey and sheep. Note that after doing this just once, you only need to will the summoning to activate from then on and press your palm to the site of summoning," explained Jiraiya.

The blond closed his eyes in concentration. Almost automatically, his hands begun moving. His fists loosely pressed together forming the boar seal. His left hand then moved to cover his right forming the dog seal. He then formed a pyramid with his middle and lead fingers curled inside for bird. His hands then pressed together forming monkey. Finally came the prayer position for sheep.

Naruto felt his chakra spike forcing him to open his eyes.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" cried the blond while pressing his palm to the ground.

The summoning seal appeared around him and a cloud of smoke overtook the blond. When it cleared, Naruto was stunned to find himself sitting on his own giant toad. Sure his was less than one third the size of Jiraiya's due to how little chakra he squeezed out, but he had done it. He glanced at Jiraiya seeking praise, all he got was a frown instead.

"The training ends here, Naruto. But if you really want to tap into the full power of that summoning technique, come back here tomorrow," instructed Jiraiya darkly.

"Why, what am I doing wrong?" asked the blond in confusion.

"You'll find out if you come. Now go, I need time to think and prepare," replied Jiraiya before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

The blond frowned. Even after successfully performing the technique on his first try his effort still wasn't good enough? Not wanting to depress himself over it, the blond decided to take his new familiar out for a joy ride. One thing for sure, it sure beat walking…

* * *

Kakashi grunted as he slowly pulled his body up the cliff face using just his right arm. As strength training, the gray haired Jounin tied his left arm behind his back so that he could only make the climb with one arm. The steep craggy outcroppings of the Canyon of Death was perfect for just this purpose.

"_It's gotten tougher since last time. Maybe I'm getting old,_" thought Kakashi as he slowly advanced.

The top of the canyon was just fifteen more feet away. It was because of this that Kakashi cursed when he suddenly lost his footing. His weight dangled excruciatingly from his arm and Kakashi could feel his fingers slipping. Kakashi closed his eyes in concentration.

"Gate of Opening, Release!"

With that, Kakashi's eye snapped open. His strength jumped to five times its' normal level, allowing him to reclaim his slipping grip. Effortlessly he propelled himself the remaining fifteen feet straight into the air. He seized the upper ledge and pulled himself to the top. He stiffened upon seeing a pair of feet in front of him.

"I'm ready to start now…Sensei," came Sasuke's quiet voice.

"Good, prepare yourself. The first phase of your training will be Taijutsu!" cried Kakashi before lunging towards Sasuke with his fist raised.

The Uchiha took a stance…

* * *

Sagitario and five other ANBU gazed solemnly at the corpse laying between them. They had gotten a report not too long ago that someone had been murdered late last night. The person who discovered the body had been half drunk on sake so his report wasn't investigated until he had sobered up. Now because of a small delay, the culprit had escaped. What more, the witness couldn't recall anything specific about the murderer.

The victim was none other than Hayate himself and by the looks of it, he had died from a sword wound. His body was almost completely split in two. Sagitario shifted his gaze to one of his teammates in particular. A female ANBU with long purple hair, Hayate's girlfriend. She kneeled and cradled the corpse face in her hands.

"Sagitario-sama…I want to find the person who did this!" she said.

Sagitario shifted his gaze towards the battle dome where the Chuunin exam would take place.

"Yeah. I want to find him to…Yugao Uzuki," responded Sagitario quietly.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto went to meet with Jiraiya for what felt like the last time. If the blond was able to fully master the Summoning Jutsu today, then he would have three more days left before he begun training with Genmaru. The thought was comforting, but he had grown attached to the old man and didn't much like the thought of abandoning him so soon.

"_But I have to get stronger before the exam starts! I'll find a way to make it up to him when it's over,_" the blond promised himself.

With that, he sped up until he arrived at the meeting point. Jiraiya was sitting Indian style while quietly meditating.

"_Most likely about something perverted,_" thought Naruto with a snicker.

The noise rouse Jiraiya, who stared at Naruto in an oddly subdued fashion. Naruto tensed with worry, the perverted hermit was acting less lively than normal. Not sure what to do, Naruto sat down in front of Jiraiya and waited for him to speak first. Nearly a minute had passed before he finally did.

"Since you came here, I take it you are prepared to do whatever it takes to master the Summoning Jutsu."

It wasn't a question. Naruto nodded his confirmation.

"Good. I'm not going to beat around the bushes here, Naruto. If you truly want to become strong, you must learn how to tap into the power of the Nine Tailed Fox!" said Jiraiya darkly.

Naruto stiffened.

"You knew?" asked the blond.

"That's not important. What matters right now is getting you to tap into the fox's chakra at will. During your last summoning, I didn't sense a single drop of the fox's chakra at all. Because of this, you are without a doubt strong but it'll be difficult to survive unless you can use its' chakra when needed," lectured the perverted hermit.

"So you're saying that I've already mastered the Summon? Also, what does that damn fox have to do with anything?" asked the blond seriously for once.

"That fox has everything to do with you. You're in a lot of danger right now, Naruto. To help you protect yourself, you must be able to use your greatest weapon."

"Danger? From what?" asked Naruto.

"You'll know in time. For now, will you do everything I ask without question?"

Naruto carefully consider that for a moment. Whatever the hermit had in mind sounded really dangerous. In the end, his curiously got the better of him and he nodded his agreement.

"Okay then. The first thing you should know, is that there are two methods of extracting the Nine Tail's chakra with your current seal. The most obvious is that the chakra is released in times when your emotions are strong during life or death situations. The method we are going to attempt is a lot more dangerous, but in turn it's almost much more powerful," begun Jiraiya.

"What do I have to do?" asked Naruto.

"To be able to use the fox's chakra at will, you must engage in combat with the Nine Tailed Fox," replied Jiraiya darkly.

Naruto paled three times over.

"Are you out of your mind!? You want me to fight a monster that even the Fourth Hokage couldn't handle!?" cried Naruto in total shock.

"Yes."

The answer was said so calmly and seriously that it had the effect of calming Naruto down somewhat. Apparently Jiraiya saw something great in the boy or else he wouldn't have asked him to risk his own neck.

"What do I have to do?" repeated Naruto in a voice that sounded braver than he felt.

"Since you cannot fight the fox due to the seal placed on you, I'm going to send you into a Genjutsu. Your mind will relive the day that the Nine Tails attacked the village," replied Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes grew wider. Jiraiya was going to send his mind into the past!

"Here's how it will work. You will have at best two hours to prepare yourself before the fox arrives at the border of the village. During that time, seek out a subordinate of mine named Rin. She'll be able to help you out considerably. Note that you may see people that you know today at much younger ages. Since this is an illusion, I won't tell you how to behave. You'll just have to use your judgment on this one. One last thing, don't be fooled into thinking that the illusion won't hurt you. I assure you the damage you may take will be very much real. It's also quite possible that you really will die if you attempt this. Last chance time, will you still do it?"

Naruto was scared, more scared than even the time when he had fought Zabuza. But the more he heard, the more his blood boiled with excitement.

"Of course I'm going!" replied Naruto with determined eyes.

Jiraiya smiled more proudly than he ever remembered. This boy was like him in so many ways, it was almost as if his student had been reincarnated again.

"Alright. Lay back and try to relax," instructed Jiraiya gently.

Naruto did as instructed and took deep calming breaths as Jiraiya placed his palm on Naruto's forehead. With his free hand, Jiraiya pressed his index and middle fingers to his left eye.

"Remember this Naruto, you don't have to beat the fox. Just stay on even footing with it for at least ten minutes."

Naruto's eyes grew heavy and he closed them tiredly.

"Edo Sokai…"

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The blond found himself in an empty clearing that he recognized. It was the very same spot where his future training area would be, the place where he had first learned that he was the container of the monster fox. Jiraiya was nowhere in sight, a sign that there was some truth to what he had said.

Judging by how dark it was, the sun had set not too long ago. If what the pervert hermit had told him was correct, he had just two hours to prepare for his battle with the monster fox. It was hard to believe that he had actually went back in time to that day. Even if it was a Genjutsu, everything looked and felt so real. The gentle wind on his face, the slight chill of the night, the smell of meals being prepared, everything.

Realizing that he wasting precious time, Naruto made way to the thirteen year younger village of Konoha. He arrived just two minutes later, at the spot where the vending machines used to be. It was here that he had beaten Ebisu with the Harem technique. Naruto chuckled at the memory. His laugh seemed to have attracted someone's attention since the sound of footfalls rushing towards him was very noticeable.

"Halt, who goes there?!" came a feminine voice, complimented by the shing of what sounded like a pair of kunai being drawn.

Not wanting to get into a fight with whoever this person was, Naruto answered quickly.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a citizen here," which was technically true seeing how he had just been born today.

"Naruto, was it? Stay where you are with both hands where I can see them!" ordered the voice.

Naruto raised his hands in the air as instructed and waited. A super cute girl then came into view. She had brown shoulder length hair that wonderfully brought out the rich brown of her eyes. There were two purple bandages on her face, one for each cheek. She was wearing loose fitting dark blue robes and a white apron. Her Konoha forehead protector was secured in place on her forehead.

The girl lowered her weapons upon spotting Naruto's forehead protector. She then gave a relieved sigh.

"Good, for a second I figured you for a spy from Rock Country. Are you alright?" asked the girl.

Naruto liked the sight of her eyes. They were kind and really friendly. Best of all was that they weren't narrowed in dislike at his presence because of the fox within him. It was a startling contrast to the treatment he received back home.

"Yes, I'm okay," replied Naruto quietly.

"That's good, but you should report to your squad," said the girl.

"My squad?" echoed Naruto.

"Whoo boy, you must be new then. We're currently on high alert due to the reports we've gotten about the Kyuubi no Kitsune heading towards the village. Every team of Genin rank are suppose to patrol the village and alert the Chuunin and Jounin squads to any suspicious activities," explained the girl calmly.

"_Damn, that bastard fox is already on the move!_" thought Naruto with a glare towards the ground. "Thanks for the advice, um?"

The girl pressed her hand to her mouth with an embarrassed giggle.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself! My name is Rin."

Naruto gave a start. Rin was a girl his age! When it came to the perverted hermit, Naruto had been expecting a older and more perky woman. He quickly composed himself so as not to seem suspicious.

"Rin, this is going to sound strange but I was sent here to find you by a man named Jiraiya," voiced Naruto carefully.

It was best not to dump to much information on his possible aid so soon. The last thing he needed was to scare off the girl who was suppose to help him fight the monster fox.

"Oh great, you know Jiraiya-sama! Hey lets talk while we walk, I'm suppose to be reporting to the village border right now," said Rin while walking off into the town.

Naruto hastily followed after her. Rin waited expectantly while Naruto fumbled with his thoughts.

"_If I just come out and say it, she'll think I'm crazy. But if I don't say anything, then it might be harder to fight with that damn fox,_" Naruto weighted his options in his mind.

Naruto then remembered Sarutobi.

"Um, Rin, it may be easier for me to explain this if we speak with Hokage-sama," suggested Naruto.

"Well alright, we'll be sure to meet up with Sensei once we arrive at the border," agreed Rin cheerfully.

"Sensei?" mused Naruto in awe.

If she had been trained directly by the Hokage himself, then she must've been really powerful. It was hard to tell right now though since her chakra was being carefully suppressed. Naruto's hopes still rose a bit, maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. The blond spent a majority of the trip looking around the village. A lot of the shops he remembered were either not build yet, or completely different altogether. His stomach gave an audible growl at that moment. Rin heard this, much to Naruto's embarrassment, and giggled.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Naruto meekly. "Can we stop by Ichiraku for a minute?"

"Ichiraku?" echoed a confused Rin. "Is that new?"

Naruto mentally kicked himself.

"_Ichiraku's Ramen stand probably hasn't even been built yet! How did these guys survive!?_" though the blond with teary eyes. "Never mind. Lets go somewhere you like."

"Okay, we can stop by Vaughn's. The man working there is really kind," said Rin with a smile.

"_Vaughn's? I wonder if it's related to Genmaru somehow?_" thought Naruto with a smirk.

His future training partner was sure to be an infant by this time.

"Yes, that'll be fine," agreed Naruto wholeheartedly.

The good thing about the old Konoha was that nothing was too far away. Instead of there being two sectors to the village, there was only one. The area on the opposite side of the river, that would become sector two, was completely untouched. Naruto knew that that would change in the next thirteen years. They arrived at Vaughn's in less than two minutes.

"Mr. Nu! Two hungry costumers for you!" announced Rin once in the shop.

A kindly old man appeared behind the nearby counter top that linked to an open view kitchen. He smiled at Rin.

"Ah it's lovely to see you again, dear. Come in come in, take a seat!" beckoned Nu.

Rin and Naruto did just that. Nu gave Naruto a quick once over and smiled.

"Well now this is certainly a surprise. Who would've thought that little Rin would find herself a boyfriend!" teased Nu.

Rin turned scarlet.

"Mr. Nu!" cried Rin.

"Now now, don't be so modest! What's your name, sonny?" asked Nu kindly.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage!" answered the blond with his usual gusto.

Nu and Rin both laughed merrily. Naruto still took offence though.

"What's so funny!?" he demanded.

"Oh, no need to get so hot under the collar. You just remind me so much of my grandson," answered Nu good naturedly.

"You do!" agreed Rin. "You act just like Xi and Sensei too."

"Xi?" echoed Naruto.

The old man cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to the kitchen.

"Maya! Bring the kids out, there's someone I'd like them to meet!" cried Nu.

"Yes father!" replied a soothing voice.

A few moments later, a gorgeous woman with long black hair entered the room. Everything about her was perfect, from the shine of her hair to her misty gray eyes. She was wearing pink robes that looked positively elegant. In one arm she held a sleeping baby boy while another kid was holding her free hand. She smiled warmly upon laying eye on Naruto and Rin.

"Ah Maya, this strapping young lad is Uzumaki Naruto. From what I can tell he's Rin's new friend," introduced Nu.

"Please to meet you Naruto-san, I'm Maya," greeted the woman while turning to Rin. "He's quite cute, I'm happy for you, Rin."

Rin and Nu laughed while Naruto flushed in awe. Unless he was mistaken, this beautiful woman was Genmaru's mother! Naruto stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Please to meet you!" he said with his head still bowed.

He felt Maya wonderfully soft hands caress his cheek, causing Naruto to look up with a flush. Maya stared into Naruto's eyes as if searching for something.

"Oh my, he really is like Xi. He has the same eyes," said Maya warmly.

"Don't I know it. He says he's going to be the future Hokage too! Strong young guy like him will be quite something I'm sure, especially if he's like Hokage-sama! He certainly looks the part!" said Nu.

The trio erupted into laughter that was at a lost on Naruto. The blond shifted his gaze to the boy standing shyly by his mother. The kid looked like a miniature Genmaru except he had black eyes and silver hair. This was obviously Xi. Naruto kneeled to his height and grinned.

"I hear that you plan on becoming Hokage!" said Naruto amicably.

"Yeah!" replied Xi with the same determination Naruto exhibited.

Naruto smiled. Judging from the records he had read about the four Hokages, Xi had yet to have made the cut in the upcoming thirteen years. However, Naruto believed wholeheartedly that he would succeed one day. Xi had nice eyes.

"Great, then here's a bit of advice for you. Understand that there are no shortcuts on the road you're trying to take. The only sure way to become Hokage is to work hard and protect those who are precious to you," advised Naruto warmly.

"Yeah," agreed Xi. "Mister, you have the same eyes as me. Are you trying to become Hokage too?"

The question was innocent and curious. Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I want to be able to protect everyone in this village one day," answered Naruto honestly.

Rin looked at Naruto with growing respect.

"_Sensei said the same thing,_" realized Rin in awe.

Nu nodded in agreement.

"You're a very wise lad. Here, I'll prepare the house's finest cuisine for you all free of charge. Do you like seafood?" asked Nu.

Naruto nodded and the old man immediately went into the kitchen to prepare his special. Naruto's eyes then lowered to the baby that Maya was carrying. Maya took notice of this and smiled.

"Would you like to hold him?" she asked.

Naruto was stunned at her trust in him.

"I…is it alright?" he asked nervously.

"Certainly!" replied Maya. "Someone like you is more than welcome to hold my darling Genmaru."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He was going to hold one of his best friends as an infant! Almost without realizing it, Naruto held out his arms. Maya then tenderly placed the baby in his arms while showing him the proper way to hold him. Naruto gazed into the alert and keen eyes of the young Genmaru. Wordlessly Naruto let Genmaru grasp his finger with his small hands. Naruto smiled happily as Genmaru cooed.

"Genmaru…I never imagined that I would meet you like this. You're so young and free and yet you became so powerful. I swear to you, I'll never let that fox hurt you. It's the promise of a lifetime," Naruto heard himself say almost as if in a surreal state of mind.

Maya and Rin smiled. They had a feeling that those two would become very good friends one day. They had no idea how right they were…

* * *

Rin and Naruto left the shop a half an hour later with noticeably full bellies. Mr. Nu had prepared quite a bit of seafood that neither of them had the heart to refuse. Best of all, it was most likely the most delicious thing Naruto had ever tasted. He could see where Genmaru had inherited his cooking skills from. Speaking of which, Naruto had been a bit reluctant to let Genmaru go. The tyke had drifted off to sleep in his arms and Naruto took great enjoyment in watching him sleep.

Still, Naruto knew that he had a big battle coming up shortly. So with a heavy heart Naruto returned Genmaru to his beautiful mother. Maya merely smiled at the blond and kissed him on his cheek for good luck. Naruto was still flushing at the memory. Rin looked at him and smiled.

"You're really good with children, Naruto. You'll make a good father one day," praised Rin.

Naruto placed his hands behind his head and grinned.

"Yeah!" he agreed cheerfully. "Say Rin, could you tell me a bit about yourself? We just met but I only know your name."

"Alright, let's see I'm thirteen years old. For the last six years I've studied with Tsunade-sama as a medical ninja. I've been a Chuunin for about three years. And…" ticked off Rin thoughtfully.

"You're a Chuunin!?" exclaimed Naruto in awe.

"Yep, but my teammate is a Jounin," added Rin.

Naruto shouldn't have been so surprised. In this time, Konoha was often engaged in frequent war. Most ninjas normally made Jounin rank by the age of ten according to his school books. Still, he couldn't help but admire his new friend. He wondered if perhaps he would become Chuunin after the exam, assuming that the fox didn't murder him first. Not wanting to sound too surprised, Naruto asked the other question that was on his mind.

"Out of curiosity, who's Tsunade?" asked Naruto.

Naruto almost ran into the back of Rin when she stopped suddenly. She spun around and stared at him as if he were an alien.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Rin incredulously.

"Will you get mad if I say no?" asked Naruto meekly.

Rin slapped her forehead in disbelief.

"You really are new! Alright, Tsunade-sama is one of the three Legendary Sannins! She's famous all throughout the world as the greatest medical ninja of all time!" explained Rin.

Naruto whistled.

"I had no idea that there was someone like that! Now that I think about it, I may have seen that name in one of my school books," commented Naruto thoughtfully.

"That's not surprising. I would let you meet her but she left town some time ago," said Rin.

"Ah Tsunade-sama sure was beautiful ne?" came an alluring voice.

Naruto and Rin looked towards the source to find…

"Sagitario-sensei!?" exclaimed Naruto.

"Ah, you've heard of me. Can't say that I'm surprised," said Sagitario.

The young Sagitario looked almost just like he did in the future. The difference was that he didn't have a sword at all, his hair was shoulder length and he was dressed in an ANBU uniform. The only other note was his obviously younger face. He elegantly brushed aside the bangs in his eyes and flashed a dazzling smile.

"Sensei? You two know each other?" asked Rin.

Naruto paled and started chuckling nervously.

"No, I've just heard of him," lied Naruto.

Rin seemed suspicious, but she didn't press the issue. Naruto sighed in relief while wiping his brow.

"_That was a close one. I can't risk telling Rin yet!_" mused Naruto.

Sagitario leaped down from the rooftop he had been standing on and landed in front of Rin. He then produced and handed Rin a rose.

"A token that couldn't begin to compare to your beauty," flirted Sagitario.

Rin and Naruto sweat dropped. Even in old times, Sagitario was still the same as ever.

"That's nice of you, but why are you really here, Sagitario?" asked Rin.

"Yes well, I was sent to deliver a message from Hokage-sama. He requests that you strengthen the border's defense on the eastern wall. Before that, all Chuunin are to report to a strategy meeting at Hokage-sama's place," reported Sagitario.

"Alright, where is Hokage-sama?" asked Rin.

"He's fortifying the northern wall. Word is that the fox will be approaching from that direction," replied Sagitario.

"Okay. I'll need you to do an important favor for me. Take my friend here to meet with Hokage-sama, he says that he has some information that may be of use to us," requested Rin.

"Certainly, I'll do it," complied Sagitario.

"Thanks, Sagitario," Rin glanced at Naruto for a moment. "Hopefully once this is all over we'll get a chance to talk some more. Be careful out there okay?"

"I will," reassured Naruto.

Rin then took to the rooftops as a speeding blur. Naruto faced Sagitario.

"An ANBU's work is never done. Come on then, we'll talk a bit while we run," said Sagitario with a smile.

With that, the duo took to the rooftops…

* * *

They arrived at the northern wall less than five minutes later. On the way there, Naruto had learned quite a bit about Sagitario and the activities of the Nine Tailed Fox. Sagitario was fourteen and a member of the ANBU team for almost seven years. Among the ANBU, Sagitario was easily one of the best and favored to become a squad captain one day.

As far as the fox went, Lightening Country had already felt the devastation caused by the beast and was currently in a state of recovery. The fox had apparently been driving off by a single Kumo kunoichi named Yugito Nii. Naruto frowned at the state of affairs. Judging by what Jiraiya had told him, he had only an hour and ten minutes left before the fox arrived. Hopefully that would be enough time to fill his allies in and rally up some support. But regardless of whether he had help or not, he was going to take on that fox.

Naruto and Sagitario made their way up the giant fort like structure that would later become the great walls of Konoha. It was as dark as they came and made purely out of solid stones. At best it would only be able to repel one direct attack from the fox according to what Sagitario had told him. Once at the very top of the wall, Sagitario led Naruto to a watch tower structure where a strategy secession was in order. A guard and five archers were keeping a look out while prohibiting anyone below Jounin rank to enter.

"Wait here, Naruto," instructed Sagitario before entering the meeting room.

Ten minutes later, Sagitario emerged from the room followed closely by…

"Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto.

Young Kakashi was very different from the Kakashi Naruto knew. He was little more than a few inches taller than Naruto for starters. His hair was even spikier than normal and stuck out of his forehead protector like sore thumbs. Even his outfit was different, consisting of a dark blue T shirt with silver bordering the sleeves, dark blue pants, and a small sword strapped to his back with leather bandoliers.

Kakashi stared emotionlessly at Naruto before shifting his gaze to Sagitario. Kakashi's eyes more or less asked if this was the person he was talking about. Sagitario nodded in confirmation.

"Naruto, was it? You had information that you wanted to share?" asked Kakashi quietly.

Naruto took a deep breath, it was now or never.

"Yes. I was sent here by a man named Jiraiya. As hard as this is to believe, I'm from the future. Exactly thirteen years from now. I'm here to fight with the Nine Tailed Fox," explained Naruto quietly.

Even to himself, his story sounded insane. Naruto's hopes fell when Kakashi raised a skeptical eyebrow. Even Sagitario didn't seem convinced by his tale. Desperately Naruto followed up.

"Please, I need to speak with Hokage-sama!" beseeched Naruto.

"Speak to me about what?" came a deep voice.

Kakashi and Sagitario immediately separated and kneeled respectfully as a man emerged from the meeting room. Naruto's mouth dropped open. He was positive that he was staring at an adult version of himself. The man had blond spiky hair with bangs drooping on either side of his face. He had intelligent looking blue eyes that stared a Naruto with a mixture of mild interest, tiredness and humor all at the same time. His face was incredibly handsome and serious looking. He was dressed in the common Jounin apparel from Naruto's time but he was wearing a white short sleeved long coat over it that had fire designs on the coat's tail. There could be no doubt, this was Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage!

Naruto's ability to speak was forgotten as he rudely stared with his mouth hanging open dumbly. Here was the real Fourth, in the flesh! Naruto quickly recovered from his stupor and bowed respectfully.

"Hokage-sama, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I was sent here from exactly thirteen years in the future by a man named Jiraiya. I'm on a mission to fight the Nine Tailed Kitsune," repeated Naruto.

Naruto almost lost fate when Yondaime didn't say anything. His face was completely neutral so it was impossible to tell if the Fourth believed him or not. After a moment he turned to Sagitario.

"Continue the strategy meeting without me. I'd like a private word with this individual. Kakashi, you'd best join us," requested the Fourth.

"Sir!" consented Sagitario before entering the meeting room.

Kakashi remained silent, but shot intrigued glances at Naruto.

"Come, there's a pub nearby where we can talk," said the Fourth Fire Shadow.

He then placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gently steered him in the direction of the pub. Naruto couldn't believe his good luck, things were finally turning around…

* * *

The pub Yondaime chose for conversing was a simple place that was apparently pretty popular. It was dimly lit to give a more western feel to it. There were several rows of leather booths and plenty of full wooden tables in the center of the room. A bar where three cute hostesses were working completed the look. They were immediately guided to a empty booth by a girl that looked so much like Ichiraku's Ayame that Naruto was certain that they were related. The Fourth ordered them all rounds of orange juice that was quickly brought out for them a few seconds later. Kakashi and the Fourth then stared at Naruto.

"You say your name is Naruto, is Jiraiya-sensei doing well?" asked the Fourth after a moment.

Naruto nearly choked on his orange juice. The perverted hermit had been the Fourth's teacher!! Naruto quickly composed himself and as levelly as he could, spoke up.

"Um, yes. I think so," replied Naruto.

"That's good to hear. You should try to relax a bit, it's easier to talk when you're calm. Just so you know, I believe your story," revealed the Fourth before taking a few swallows of juice.

"Y-you do?" managed Naruto with giddy relief.

"Yes, the technique he used was an advanced Genjutsu that he employed on your mind. The Impure World Unfolding Jutsu, Edo Sokai, right?" asked the Fourth knowingly.

"Yeah, I think that's what he called it," confirmed Naruto.

"So you really are from thirteen years into the future?" asked Kakashi.

"Yep, but a lot of things are different in this time," replied Naruto.

"Interesting but, judging by the urgency in your eyes, we're short on time correct? Tell us then, what reason drives you to engage in battle with the Nine Tailed Fox?" asked the Fourth seriously.

Naruto frowned.

"Where to begin…"

By the time Naruto had explained the situation, including the fact that he was the container of the Nine Tailed Fox, thirty minutes had passed. Both Kakashi and the Fourth grew thoughtful.

"So Jiraiya-sensei sent you here in the hopes that after fighting with the fox you would be able to control its' chakra. You truly are a hero to desire to want to protect those who are precious to you with the power of the Nine Tails. My judgment was correct and choosing you to be the Kitsune's container," murmured the Fourth thoughtfully.

"But judging by Naruto's story, that means we only have twenty-eight minutes before the fox attacks the border!" pointed out Kakashi.

"So it would seem…Kakashi, rally all capable fighters to the northern wall!" ordered the Fourth.

"Sir!" said Kakashi before teleporting in a sudden gust of wind.

Yondaime then gazed at Naruto.

"I want to see the child who's body will become the Fox's container. So Naruto, you and I are going to the hospital," announced the Fourth while standing up and placing some money on the table.

"But Hokage-sama, if we do that then there won't be anytime to get to the northern wall!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Don't worry about it, come," waved off the Fourth while making to leave the shop.

Naruto hurried quickly after him…

* * *

Naruto was starting to panic. The Fourth had taken such a leisurely pace that by the time they had reached the hospital, twenty minutes had passed. Being all the way on the southern side of the village, Naruto knew that they would have no time to make it to the north wall by the time the fox attacked. Still, Yondaime didn't seem even remotely concerned. They entered the hospital and with the guidance of a helpful nurse, they were lead to the room of baby Naruto.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. The room they were in was extremely dark and the only source of light came from several dozen candles. The candles formed a large ring around a straw casket. Naruto and the Fourth peered inside to find Naruto himself, sound asleep. The baby wasn't clothed yet, but he was still kept warm by a soft and comfortable blanket. Naruto and the Fourth smile at each other, baby Naruto was kicking with his left leg while sucking on his thumb. The sight was completely cute to behold. Present Naruto felt tears touch the corner of his eyes at the harsh life he knew was coming soon but he wiped them away before the Fourth could say anything.

Naruto felt a sympathetic hand touch his shoulder and Yondaime leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"In order to receive the Fox, I'll need to create the seal now. It won't hurt him," promised the Fourth before stepping towards the baby.

Present Naruto watch curiously as the Fourth raised his right hand in front of himself. His palm begun to glow with blue chakra before it surrounded all of his fingers except for his thumb. The Fourth then pressed his hand to baby Naruto's stomach and formed a simple seal with his free hand.

"Shiso Fuin," whispered the Fourth.

A bright flash of light lit up the room for a moment. When it cleared, the baby never stirred from his sleep. The Fourth removed his hand but there was no visible changes in the youth's body at all. Yondaime then faced present Naruto and smiled.

"We're done here, we'll be joining the others now," announced the Fourth.

Naruto nodded and cast one last longing look at his younger self before following Yondaime out of the room. They then proceeded out of the hospital and faced each other.

"Are you glad you got to meet your younger self?" asked Yondaime.

Naruto nodded quietly and looked up with determined eyes.

"I want to beat that bastard fox more than ever now. But we only have two minutes, how are we going to make it back in time?" asked Naruto.

"I'm sure you know what my other title is right?" asked Yondaime with a slight smile.

Naruto racked his brain for information from his academy days. Finally, one page of his textbook came to mind.

"Konoha no Kiroi Senko, the Yellow Flash of Konoha," recited Naruto absently.

"Correct," said the Fourth while flashing through some seals. "Grab my coat."

Naruto place a hand on Yondaime's shoulder and waited.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu."

* * *

Naruto didn't even have time to blink before he found himself standing next to young Kakashi and Rin. He gazed in awe at Yondaime. Naruto didn't know whether to call it teleportation or super speed. But the blond had a sinking suspicion that it was the latter. They had arrived at the northern wall way too fast for it to be a teleportation Jutsu. That meant that Yondaime was easily faster than even Naruto and Genmaru put together!

"What's the situation, Kakashi?" asked the Fourth.

"The fox is almost here, I can smell its' chakra. All of the ninjas in the village are awaiting further instructions from you," reported young Kakashi grimly.

"I see. Everyone, this is it! We're going to engage in real combat with the Nine Tailed Kitsune! All archers, prepare to fire the Jutsu-Shiki into its' body! Main defense team, make sure that the fox doesn't pass the wall! Rear defense team, you'll be our last stand if all else fails!" shouted Yondaime.

Over six-hundred battle ready ninjas let loose war cries. They were ready for action! Naruto tensed. This was it, the big battle that would either make or break him. The Fourth turned to Naruto, Kakashi and Rin.

"We're going to engage the fox first. Once the archers have fired the Jutsu Formulas into its' flank we attack," instructed the Fourth.

"Right!" they agreed.

With that, everyone waited patiently for the arrival of the monster fox…

* * *

The feel of the Fox's terrifying chakra was awful. The killing intent that it radiated was beyond the level of anything any of them had ever felt before. Then the Kyuubi came into view. Small at first, but getting larger with each passing second as it neared. Yondaime raised his right hand into the air causing all of the archers to ready their bows. The beast was no more than a five-hundred feet away before the Fourth pointed at the fox.

Instantly the nonstop humming of over two-hundred bows rang out. The sky itself turned black as the projectiles sailed towards the incoming beast. The Kyuubi skidded to a halt and let loose an enraged roar as the first of many arrows pelted its' reddish orange fur. Yondaime flashed through some seals and glanced at the assault team.

"Now!" he cried.

Kakashi, Rin and Naruto immediately seized his jacket and were warped to the fox's back. Immediately they split up to begin the assault. Everyone's legs were blurs as they dashed to separate ends of the snarling Fox's body. Kakashi's right hand filled with a crackling sphere of chakra as he dashed towards the back of the Kyuubi's head. Yondaime appeared to be in multiple places at once as he vanished from place to place with his unrivaled speed to plant exploding tags in the beast's fur. Rin was stopping from time to time to hit the Fox with frightening levels of insane strength that even went beyond what Domino displayed during the preliminaries. Lastly, Naruto appeared in a flash of speed on the bridge of the beast's nose and glared hatefully into its' eyes.

"Damn fox! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! I swear on everything I stand for, I'm going to take you down!" declared Naruto with his fist aimed at the Fox's eyes.

The Kyuubi laughed in a deep and cruel voice while narrowing its' eyes at the fool who would dare challenge him. It barely even noticed the tiny insect like attacks on his body from Naruto's companions. Only the boy standing on his nose was of any interest at the moment. Naruto growled and hurled some smoke pellets right into the Kitsune's left eye. It howled in agony while trashing about in an attempt to dislodge the brat from his nose. He was going to pay for that!

Naruto withdrew a kunai with an exploding tag attached and was about to hurl it into the fox's other eye when it violently snapped its' head upwards. Naruto cried out in alarm as he was hurled several dozen feet into the air. By this point Kakashi had hit the fox in the back of the head with his Raikiri, further angering the fox. It shook its' body like a wet dog causing Rin and Kakashi to lose their balance. They managed to stop themselves from falling off of the fox by seizing fist fulls of the creature's fur. Yondaime appeared in front of the raging fox's snout with a small sphere of rotating blue chakra in his hand.

"Rasengan!" he cried before thrusting the sphere into the fox's nose.

It roared in pain and attempted to take a swipe at the Hokage with his paw. Naturally he vanished in a flash thanks to his Flying Thunder God technique.

"Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" came Naruto's voice as he fell back down to rejoin the fight.

The sky filled with nearly two-hundred Narutos, all armed with exploding notes. The fox wasn't going to make it that easy though. A MONSTER sized aura of chakra erupted forth from the Kyuubi's body that blew everyone off of his body and sent the Naruto army flying as well. The forty foot tall fox then swung one of its' giant tails conjuring up a huge gust of wind. The wind easily made several fissures in the earth resulting in the birth of the Canyon of Death. Kakashi caught Rin just as the gust nearly blew her away and anchored himself in place with a kunai.

Of the Naruto army only fifty of them had survived the fox's counterattack. They landed and stood protectively in front of the others. Yondaime appeared next to the real Naruto, that he had tagged with a Jutsu Formula earlier, and formed a seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried spawning fifty Hokages to join in on the match.

"Let's go!" cried all of the clones before vanishing in flashes of speed.

They all appeared on the fox's body and detonated via the suicide bomber method. A chain reaction of more than three hundred exploding tags rang out causing the fox to howl in pain and smash with a winded grunt on its' belly. Once the explosions came to an end, the real Naruto and Yondaime dashed forward as white and orange blurs. They ran up the downed Kitsune's forelegs and boosted off towards its' head. The fox snarled and quickly rose back up to its' full height. These insects were really starting to bother him now. He had long since regenerated from that little explosion stunt they had pulled earlier and had no intention of letting them do it again.

Naruto and Yondaime landed on the fox's snout and nodded to each other. Naruto dashed forth while the Fourth flashed through some hand seals. The fox tried to dislodge them from his nose, but Yondaime was warping around too fast to be disoriented in the least and Naruto had high jumped into the air.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto spawning two clones.

The real Naruto and one of his clones seized the other clone and hurled him forth with all the strength they could muster. The fox countered with a chakra roar that slowed the clone's fall and blew the other two Narutos away. Still the flying clone was moving fast enough to pull of the suicide bombing technique directly the beast's eyes. The fox howled in pain, but his suffering was far from over. The Fourth appeared directly in the center of the Kyuubi's back and pressed his palm there.

"I call you forth…Gamabunta! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" cried the Fourth.

In a poof of smoke, the Nine Tailed Fox was literally squashed by a HUGE toad. The giant Toad King was over a hundred meters tall and very grumpy looking. He was wearing a blue vest that had the Japanese characters for Toad King on the back. On either side of the big toad were a pair of knives that, in relation to his size, looked more like short swords. The Toad's skin was slightly red and his eyes were golden. A large pipe completed the look. The Fourth stood proudly on top of its' head.

"Hey, where am I?" bellowed Gamabunta. "What's the meaning of this, Yondaime?"

"Gamabunta, let's protect the people of our village together," requested the Fourth with a confident smile.

The giant toad smiled.

"That's so like you, Fourth. Alright but once this is over we're having sake together!" announced Gamabunta in a tone that left no room for argument.

Naruto stared in awe at the King of Toads.

"_So this is what the hermit meant!_" realized Naruto with wide eyes.

The fox, grew tired of being a cushion for the overweight Toad King and jerked up with enough strength to send Gamabunta flying backwards. The fox turned towards its' new foe and growled ferociously. Gamabunta calmly took a drag on his pipe and exhaled the smoke into the fox's face. The Kitsune's fury knew no bounds.

"I'm going to rip you to shreds! Then I'll feast on your bowels!" roared the Kyuubi.

"And I could use a warm blanket at night!" countered the Toad King.

Sensing that things were going to get messy, Naruto hopped off of the Kyuubi's leg and regrouped with Kakashi and Rin. Rin immediately set about healing Naruto's wounds with a strange restorative green light from her hands. Once done, the trio turned their attention to the battle at hand.

Gamabunta crouched a bit and drew one of his swords from its' sheathe. The fox powered up its' incredible chakra aura and glared as if daring the Toad to make the first move. Gamabunta did just that and sprang forward like only a strong giant toad can. He swung his sword in a wide sweeping arc that the Kitsune effortlessly avoid with a high jump into the air. The moment it landed, the fox grabbed a tree with one of its' tails and charged. The toad grunted as he received a solid whack with the Kyuubi's weapon choice.

With a growl, Gamabunta took to the air and clapped its' webbed forelegs together.

"Suiton, Teppodama!" cried the Toad before spiting a compressed ball of water at the demon.

The Kyuubi leaped back out of harm's way and hurled the tree at the airborne toad. It hit hard causing the Toad King to cry out in pain. The Kyuubi grinned and dashed forward to deliver the finishing blow to the oversized toad.

"Now!" cried Yondaime causing Gamabunta to spit a wave of oil at the startled Kitsune.

The Fourth then flashed through some seals.

"Katon, Gamayu Endan!" cried Yondaime before breathing a jet of flame into the oil.

Like a firey bullet of doom, the ignited oil engulfed and barbequed the Kyuubi. It howled in pain and crouched to lessen the amount of damage it was taking. All of the onlookers cheered at the sight. This angered the proud Kitsune and he rose up with a shockwave of chakra that knocked everyone, including Gamabunta, on their backs. The Fourth quickly formed a prayer seal, causing all of the exploding tags he had planted to ignite. While it didn't hurt, the explosions still startled the fox out of its' concentration.

The archers added to the beast's misery by firing another wave of arrows with exploding notes attached to them. The Kyuubi roared as over three hundred arrows detonated on contact with its' body. Kakashi aided as well with another Raikiri aimed at the Kitsune's paw. Even Rin was able to leap up to the Kyuubi's snout to ram a kunai with an exploding note attached right into its' nose. Naruto added to the pain by spawning eighty more clones and having them ram a hundred and sixty exploding kunai into the Kyuubi's ass, Kakashi style! The fox started dancing about, there were simply too many attacks pelting him at once.

Angrily, the Kyuubi made a desperate dash at the nearest possible target. Sadly this turned out to be Naruto himself. Naruto was so startled by this that he fell onto his back. The blond barely managed a scream before the monster fox crushed his legs with its' massive paw. Naruto howled in pain as the Kyuubi's razor sharp nails separated his legs from his torso.

"Naruto!" came the cries of Kakashi, Rin and the Fourth.

Naruto hacked up a mouthful of blood and winched. He could already feel his life blood seeping out of his severed body. The Fourth was besides himself with fury and vanished in a flash of speed to appear upon the grinning fox's nose. Yondaime then formed a seal while his chakra aura spiked to the max!

"Shinigami…lend me your power," murmured the Fourth with downcast eyes.

The fox felt his body grow rigged and stiff. Somehow the human had paralyzed him! The Kyuubi's eyes grew fearful as tiny gray flames surrounded the Fourth's body. A ghostly wisp of smoke then surrounded Yondaime before slowly giving way to an almost transparent creature. The thing had purple skin, devil like horns on its' forehead and a mouthful of razor sharp teeth that were frozen in a permanent grin. It had what looked like a butcher knife in its' mouth that shone with a cold glow. The thing was wearing white robes that matched its' long white hair perfectly. Its' bright blue eyes shown with excitement. This was the Legendary Death God, Shinigami.

Without making a sound, Shinigami rammed its' clawed hand into the Fourth's body and tugged until a blue mass of light was extracted. The light assumed the shape of Yondaime before it merged with Shinigami's body. As if placed on a crucifix, the Yondaime shaped light spread its' arms straight out and bowed its' head. The Death God then conjured up a second pair of arms from its' opening robes and rammed them into the Kyuubi's body. The Fox howled in terror as this took place.

Once the Nine Tail's soul had been fully extracted from its' body, Shinigami seized the handle of its' knife and cut through a thin sprit cord that linked the fox's soul to its' body. Yondaime then raised his right hand to the heavens…

"Shiso Fuin."

The Fox sprit turned into a mass of bright red light and slipped free of Shinigami's grasp. Then, like a shooting star, the light sped in the direction of the hospital and its' container. The Death God bared its' fangs as if protesting to the lost of its' meal. Yondaime sank weakly to his knees and aimed a sad smile at Naruto and his students. He gave that same smiled to the stunned solders and citizens of the village.

"_Please, see Naruto as the hero that I know he will become,_" thought Yondaime as his eyes glazed over. "Shiki Fuin."

Shinigami more than excitedly extracted Yondaime's captured soul from his own body and cut through that sprit cord with its' knife as well. The Death God then opened its' mouth impossibly wide and swallowed the severed soul completely. Shinigami then crossed its' arms over itself and slowly vanished from sight. Yondaime immediately slumped over, very much dead.

Tears touched the corner of every person's eyes, including Naruto's before he closed his own eyes for the last time…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo, it's Aninene!! I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Lola said the ending of this chapter had moved her to tears. Just like I promised, no Cannon short of the Jiraiya scene that I altered a lot. Please let me know how I did guys. :)

Wow! That's a lot of reviews!! Yahoo, let's get cracking :D

Lilith Desiree: You're probably right. The part about Lee Neji and Tenten made me laugh! XD The only thing I can say is that Team Gai had graduated one year before everyone else did and weren't given at number during Naruto's graduation year. If they had one last year or even at all, it was just never mentioned. But I'm dying to know what their team number is if they do have one :)

jbalman: Ah a question that's hard to answer without spoiling it. I'll just say that it's not likely that Naruto will be joining the clan, but it's a really good possibility.

Digi fan: Really really strong! It's almost scary, but he won't be invincible or anything like that. :)

zerodragon: Awesome! I feel extra proud of myself hearing that you liked it. Also I apologize for the delay, every time I tried to post chapter ten I kept getting an error message. Fortunately the admin fixed the problem so I haven't had anymore trouble yet. :)

Aj: Whoa, you read almost the whole thing in one sitting!? That's amazing :) Yeah, I understand what you mean about the changes being slow. Sorry about that, but we've reached the point where I can easily alter the original story a lot due to all the elements I put in over time. Most of the story was written by memory of what I saw and read from the Anime and Manga. I didn't sit in front of TV and copy it or anything like that. Being born with a good memory pays off sometimes. XD

Necroblade: Yay, I'm glad you like it! I feel the same way about some of the Insertion fics. Most of the time the writer will only do two or three chapters and stop. Not me, I intend to finish this one! XD Yeah, Naruto wasn't getting the attention he deserved at all. Sasuke fan girls annoyed me just as much as they annoy Naruto. XD The pairings were tough calls, but as I wrote and made notes it just seemed so right to make it a NarutoxElaine pairing. It was also encouraged by both Lola and CodeKyuubi. :)

My prayers have been answered! It's reviews reviews and more reviews! Thanks guys :)

I don't wanna do the Disclaimer!! It's like that evil monkey in Chris Griffen's closet! XD

I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything else belongs to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto!

Next up, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Plus Rank after Jiraiya dispels Orochimaru's seal with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using Limit Break against the Kyuubi.

Yondaime - S Rank of course

Rin - C Plus Rank

Young Kakashi - B Plus Rank

Young Kakashi - A Minus Rank using Sharingan

The end of another exciting chapter! Did Naruto die, or am I just teasing you? Find out in the next exciting installment :)

Bonus note: Just for fun, imagine that the song Sneak Chamber from Samurai Champloo is playing during the Kyuubi battle. :)


	12. Combat Training 101!

This chapter has been dedicated to my favorite cousin and best friend.

Renee Lode - AKA "Rose"

7/13/1990 - 4/23/2007

After a week long struggle against cancer, she finally returns to the hands of time.

Rest in Peace

* * *

**The Birth of the Blue Dragon!**

**Combat Training 101!**

Naruto grimaced as his eyes slowly came into focus. Immediately he jerked upright and checked himself for injuries. There weren't any.

"No way! I was positive that I had gotten ripped to pieces and…" Naruto paled. "AHH, I'M DEAD!!" he wailed.

Naruto punched the wet cemented ground. He then frowned at the sight of the water.

"_Geez, you'd think heaven or wherever dead guys go would be dryer,_" mused the blond before looking around.

He found himself in one really long hallway that branched off into several other halls. There were several really dim lights on giving Naruto a feeling that he was in a horror flick. Dozens of leaky pipes lined the ceiling and walls. To complete his picture perfect vacation of doom, the area reeked of wet fur.

"Great, real smooth way to end your life, Naruto," grumbled the blond to himself.

He nearly jumped when a gruff voice echoed throughout the hall. A huge chakra force then penetrated his senses, giving rise to a feeling of dread. Naruto wasn't alone, and whatever was with him felt really powerful. Almost against his will, his curiosity powered feet dragged him towards the source of the terrible energy he felt.

Naruto must've walked for an eternity before the pressure of whatever the thing was begun to get even stronger. With each frightened step he took forward, savage growling and cursing rang throughout the halls. The blond grew thoughtful.

"_This chakra…it feels like his…_" thought the frightened blond.

The hall he was walking down gave way to a bright flash of light signifying that he had reached the end of the tunnel. Naruto shielded his eyes and pressed forward, pausing only to allow his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the chamber he had entered. What he saw was an enormous doorway that was covered in iron bars. The door had to be at least forty feet tall!

"_What's that?_" Naruto wondered upon catching sight of something miniscule compared to the door itself.

A tiny sealing ward with the Japanese characters for seal was planted directly on the gateway. Despise its' simple appearance, an even stronger chakra force than what he had felt earlier was radiating from that slip of paper. Naruto's head erupted into despair when a huge killing intent erupted forth from beyond the gateway. The blond sank to his knees in a state of temporary paralysis and gazed helplessly upwards.

A frighteningly familiar pair of blood red eyes peered out at the blond from its' confinement. They were the eyes of the monster fox, the very creature that had just killed him. If the beast recognized him at all, it didn't show it. The Kyuubi spoke in a deep rumbling voice.

"Come forth, Kodo," beckoned the fox.

Naruto's mind lost control of his body. All he felt was the slow steady moves of compliance to the beast's wishes. Once he was a mere five feet away from the gate, the demon fox tried to impale him with his razor sharp claws. Naruto regained control of himself and leaped back just before his heart would've been pierced. The Kitsune narrowed its' eyes.

"I want to consume your putrid human flesh but the gates will not open. Such an unsightly seal is detestable," grumbled the brute evilly. "Why have you come to me, boy?"

"_I must've somehow ended up within my own seal!_" realized Naruto before hardening his gaze. "Damn fox, I'm here to ask you to completely unify your chakra with my own!"

The fox laughed, cold and cruel. Naruto didn't see the humor in the situation.

"Fox, we share the same body! Personally I would give anything to rid myself of you, but Yondaime has chosen me to be your container!"

"What do I care, child? You would sooner die than ever receive my chakra," grumbled the oversized beast.

"Damn you, not too long ago I nearly kicked your ass! You own me some chakra!" shouted the blond angrily.

"Maybe if you ask me politely, brat."

The rumbling of the Kyuubi's laughter was a telltale sign. The Kitsune was teasing him! Naruto was just debating whether to rip that tiny seal off so he could kick the stuffing out of the fox when it spoke.

"Very well then brat, I'll freely lend you my powers, but the moment you die your body shall be my tool of death," promised the fox before a wave of blood red chakra surged forth from the cage.

It washed over Naruto, binding him in a bone breaking grip. Naruto screamed in pure agony while the chakra forced itself down his throat. Naruto then dropped to his hands and knees and seized his head. His brain felt like it would explode as the fox's sprit made a place for itself within Naruto's mind. It felt like he was being killed all over again as the Naruto's vision became red, followed shortly by absolute darkness…

* * *

Naruto heard them before he saw them. Two familiar voices with one being particularly loud. It didn't help his splitting headache very much.

"Checkmate," came Shikamaru's voice.

"Yosh! Once again I have lost to a skilled player! But with hard work I will master this game!" came the unmistakable voice of Lee.

"Chill man, it's just chess," grumbled Shikamaru.

"But you've beaten me with the mental powers of youth!" pointed out Lee loudly.

"Yeah, mental," commented Shikamaru dryly. "This is such a drag. Why does Naruto sleep so much anyway? You think he's dead?"

"Hm, maybe he is training by meditating for two days straight!" suggested Lee.

Shikamaru sighed. Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore, he immediately broke out laughing.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Lee with a happy smile.

"So you're finally awake," greeted Shikamaru with a smirk.

"Yeah," replied Naruto tiredly. "Where am I?"

"At the hospital, Naruto-kun," replied Lee.

"I heard that you were sleeping for the pass two days," added Shikamaru.

"I see," said Naruto quietly. "_That means I start training with Genmaru tomorrow. Looks like I'm still alive then, the perverted hermit must've brought me here._"

"You feeling alright, Naruto?" asked Shikamaru. "_He's normally so loud_."

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking about a dream I had," responded Naruto in the same quiet tone.

Shikamaru and Lee looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces.

"Naruto-kun, Elaine-chan and Domino-chan stopped by to see you earlier with a bowl of ramen," said Lee in a test of Naruto's reaction.

The only thing that reacted to Lee's joke was Naruto's rumbling stomach. Ignoring this as best as he could. Naruto shifted his gaze to Lee tiredly. Lee was wearing a pair of sky blue pajamas and by the looks of it, was in picture perfect health. The mini Gai grinned and struck the nice guy pose.

"I'm recovering faster than the doctors predicted! I'll be able to leave the hospital in two weeks!" said Lee cheerfully.

Naruto propped himself up on his elbows and grinned.

"That's great, Fuzzy-Brows!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Shikamaru sighed in relief.

"_Good, he snapped out of it. I was about to call the nurse for a second there,_" thought the lazy ninja before giving a start. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

Shikamaru kneeled over to pick up a straw fruit basket. He set it down on Naruto's bed.

"You must be hungry right? I was going to give these to Chouji but the doctor says that he can't eat them. Let's eat them together," suggested Shikamaru.

"Huh, what's wrong with Chouji?" asked Naruto.

"It's troublesome, but he ate too much barbeque after training," replied Shikamaru with a smirk.

Naruto cracked up laughing.

"That is so like Chouji too!" said Naruto between laughter.

"Gai-sensei always say to eat only what the body needs for energy and then some for strength! Perhaps Chouji-kun will get even stronger after this experience!" suggested Lee cheerfully.

"Maybe," agreed Naruto. "Say let's eat these in front of Chouji!"

"You're cruel, Naruto-kun," said Lee half jokingly.

The door slid open at that moment and Sakura entered the room.

"Naruto, Lee-kun how are you?" asked Sakura cheerfully.

"Sakura-chan!" greeted Lee and Naruto excitedly.

The pink haired girl smiled and strode forward while producing a pair of white daffodils from behind her back. She gave one to Lee and one to Naruto.

"Thank you very much, Sakura-chan!" said Lee with a blush.

"It smells nice, Sakura-chan!" added Naruto with a grin.

Sakura stuck her tongue out in pleasure before noticing Shikamaru for the first time.

"Oh, how long where you here, Shikamaru?" asked Sakura in momentary surprise. "_A guy like him doesn't stand out much at all_."

Shikamaru shrugged.

"I just got here an hour ago. It's a drag but I was checking up on Chouji," replied the lazy ninja while gesturing to the fruit basket.

"Oh, well I hope Chouji gets better soon," said Sakura warmly before facing Naruto. "Ino told me that you had been admitted to the hospital two days ago. You're not hurt are you?"

The blond was touched by Sakura's concern for his well being, something she normally ignored in any case. Naruto grinned happily.

"I feel fine, Sakura-chan. I could take on the world right now!" declared Naruto while patting his muscle confidently.

"Yosh! Naruto-kun is fueled by the power of youth! I have been motivated as well!" cried Lee loudly. "Naruto-kun, once I am fit again please spar with me sometimes! Your match in the preliminaries showed me that you'll make an excellent rival!"

"Um, sure. Okay," agreed Naruto while modestly rubbing the back of his head.

"What?! Are you sure you guys should beat each other up so soon after getting out of the hospital!?" said Sakura with instant worry.

"Ah it'll be fine, Sakura-chan!" reassured Naruto.

"Yosh! Our youth power won't allow either of us to become seriously harmed!" added Lee with a dazzling grin.

"Boys," muttered Sakura while rolling her eyes.

The blond merely grinned and helped himself to an apple. Shikamaru and Lee then set up the chessboard for another game while Sakura fetched another stool to watch. Not even five minutes had passed before Lee grasped his head in dismay.

"Aii! I'm losing again!" wailed Lee.

Shikamaru smirked and was just about to make the Checkmate when the hourglass they were using stopped draining sand suddenly. Shikamaru flicked it a few times with his finger and frowned.

"Damn, it's stuck. How troublesome," grumbled Shikamaru.

Naruto suddenly stiffened.

"_This killing intent!_" thought the blond. "Guys, we might have a problem."

Shikamaru, Sakura and Lee stiffened when they sensed it as well. Whoever was walking around with such a strong thirst for blood was close, real close. Everyone rose and faced the door way where the killing intent was waiting just on the other side. Slowly the door slid open…

* * *

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" cried Shikamaru while forming the Ram seal.

His shadow shot forward and snared the person before he could even react. Everyone found themselves staring into the cold eyes of Sabaku no Gaara.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing here!?" demanded Naruto.

"I've come to kill a certain person," answered Gaara coldly.

Everyone stiffened, Gaara was being quite serious.

"You're acting awfully calm considering your situation. Who are you after?" asked Shikamaru.

"I don't know. So I'm going to kill all of that guy's friends until I find the person who was suppose to defeat me," answered Gaara.

Naruto gasped.

"You mean, Genmaru?" predicted Naruto quietly.

"He told me that one of his friends was similar to me. I want to kill that person," confirmed Gaara.

"You're a monster!" accused Sakura.

"That's right, I am a monster. At birth my father used a ninja technique to bind an incardinate of sand to me. To make me the ultimate ninja, I was made a monster at birth," admitted Gaara coldly.

"Lee, Sakura, get back! Since you're not in the tournament you aren't the ones he is after," ordered Shikamaru.

They quickly did as requested while Naruto and Shikamaru stood their ground.

"You grew up in a bad environment didn't you?" asked Shikamaru in an effort to stall for time. "Your parents sure have a twisted way of showing love."

"Don't measure me by your values," warned Gaara as his sand started rising out of his gourd. "The only link I have to those fools who call themselves my family is the desire for blood and hatred. At birth I stole the life of my mother. As Kazekage's son, I was then taught ninja arts, overprotected, and finally left alone. From there, I was repeatedly marked for assassination by my own father."

"But why?" asked Lee fearfully.

"A being that becomes too powerful eventually becomes an embodiment of fear. Unable to experience the simple joy of sleep, my mind has grown unstable. The people of my village noticed this and constantly avoided me out of fear and spite. It was when I turned six that I was classified as too dangerous to let live," a blood thirsty grin appeared on his face.

Everyone stiffened as Gaara's murderous intent spiked.

"For the longest I wondered why I existed in this world. In time I came to this conclusion. My goal is to kill every powerful being in this world other than myself. Those who have the power to end my existence must be hunted down and destroyed. I fight only for myself and love only myself. For that reason alone as long as there are people left for me to kill, the world is wonderful," declared Gaara.

Everybody became frozen due to the intensity of Gaara bloodlust. The trembling Shikamaru shot Naruto a glance.

"_Out of all of us only Naruto is closest to Genmaru. Seeing how fast Naruto can move, he has the best chance of beating this guy if things get out of hand. Guess I'll bluff and see how he reacts,_" thought Shikamaru nervously. "After seeing your match, we know that you're strong. However, Naruto and I are pretty strong too. Since it's two on one, you're at a big disadvantage. I suggest you leave while you are able."

Gaara didn't react in the slightest to Shikamaru's threat. The sand in his gourd swirled menacingly around him.

"Die now," said Gaara darkly.

Naruto bravely stepped forward and fired up his chakra aura. But there was something different about it. Instead of the usual blue, the aura was a light shade of violet and what more was almost five times its' normal size! Everyone, except for Gaara, was swept off of their feet by the powerful shockwave that radiated from it. Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously at the sight.

"So…you're the one I've been looking for," said Gaara.

"I won't let you hurt my friends! I'll show you what a true monster is like!" growled Naruto savagely. "_This guy is just like me. Were it not for Iruka and my friends, I would be no different than him. I can't beat a guy like that as I am now,_" thought Naruto behind his protective façade.

Shikamaru and the others stared in awe at Naruto's back.

"_This chakra…it complete different than it was at the preliminaries! Naruto's strength is monstrous, yet it doesn't look like he's aware of it yet,_" observed Shikamaru with the other's exact thoughts.

Gaara thrust both of his fists at Naruto with a crazed look of both fear and rage in his eyes.

"Sabaku Kyuu!"

The sand rose up in preparation to crush Naruto to pieces when…

"Hold it right there!" came the voices of both Sagitario and Gai.

Everyone looked towards the door to find said Jounin glaring at Gaara.

"Unless you want to die here, I suggest you wait until the main matches start," warned Gai darkly while Sagitario loosened his sword a bit.

Gaara shot Naruto a baleful look that promised pain and suffering like no other before recalling his sand back into his gourd. Without a word, Gaara brushed pass Sagitario and Gai and vanished from sight. Nobody relaxed until Gaara's chakra force had completely abandoned their senses…

* * *

"Phew, that was certainly unpleasant," said Sagitario good naturedly.

"I'll say. Are you all alright?" asked Gai.

Everyone nodded in confirmation except for an unusually withdrawn Naruto.

"Naruto?" said Sakura worriedly.

"He was after me," said Naruto after a moment. "If you guys hadn't shown up, we would've…"

"What are you saying?! Your chakra was almost just as strong as Genmaru's!" interupted Shikamaru.

Naruto became instantly confused.

"It was?" he asked.

"Didn't you feel it?" asked Lee.

Naruto shook his head in the negative.

"I was too scared to really feel much of anything," admitted the blond.

"_**That's too bad, brat. After all the begging you did to get that power, you're making yourself out to be dense.**_"

Naruto gave a startled start.

"Who said that!?" demanded Naruto while glancing around.

Everyone looked at him with confused expressions.

"Who said what, Naruto-kun?" asked Lee.

"There was a voice and…" he stopped upon catching the concerned eye of everyone in the room. "Never mind, I was just kidding," lied Naruto with a forced smile.

Shikamaru and Sakura sighed in annoyance while the others just seemed relieved that he wasn't cracking up. Naruto then called out with his mind.

"_Fox, is that you?_"

"_**Obviously, Kodo. You don't have any other sprit sealed within your rotting human mind do you?**_" replied the Kyuubi sarcastically.

Naruto frowned. He was seriously going to chew this smart-aleck of a fox out later on.

"_We'll talk later, try to stay quite in the meantime okay?_" ordered Naruto.

"_**Fine, I'll just entertain myself watching you interact with those other hideous humans. By the way, is the bob haired brat a clone of the other guy?**_"

Naruto ignored what may have been an attempt at humor on the Kitsune's part and focused on everyone else.

"Did you come to see me, Gai-sensei?" asked Lee with starry eyes.

"Yes, Lee! I'd never miss a chance to visit my favorite student!" replied Gai while flashing the nice guy pose.

"Gai-sensei!

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Everyone sweat dropped as the look alikes started sobbing. Sakura then faced Sagitario curiously.

"Why are you here, Sagitario-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Hm, well for one there's a really cute nurse on the first floor that I visit often," joked the green haired ninja before clearing his throat. "More importantly though, I'm here to see you about an important matter, Naruto-kun."

"What's that?" asked an intrigued Naruto.

"It concerns your training for the exam," hinted Sagitario with a meaningful look.

Naruto nodded in understanding before excusing himself from the room so that he could talk with Sagitario privately. The duo went into an empty room and Naruto quickly sat down on the bed while Sagitario pulled up a stool.

"I'm going to be frank with you, Naruto. The training plan Genmaru has set up for you is highly difficult. I have no doubt that you'll be able to do it, but the question is will you be able to recover enough afterwards to fight in the exam," hinted Sagitario seriously.

Naruto gulped, he didn't like where this was going.

"The first thing you should know is that you will be required to spent the next fifty-two days living in the quarters of the Dragon Clan. As the location of this compound is kept hidden even from the villagers itself, I need to know that you won't tell a soul where it is."

Naruto was stunned. If what he heard was true, he was going to be let in on the location of Konoha's most elite sect. It was a well known fact that the Clan members preferred absolute secrecy so that their training methods and techniques would be impossible to find. Naruto never dreamed that such an opportunity would open up to him. Now that he thought about it, Elaine's secretive behavior at the graduation exam made perfect sense.

"I won't tell anyone," vowed Naruto without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Sagitario stared long and hard into his eyes. After a moment he nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay then. We depart for the compound in one hour. I'll check you out of the hospital in the meantime," said Sagitario while rising and walking to the door. "Train hard, Naruto-kun," advised Sagitario over his shoulder before leaving the room.

Naruto sat in silence for a few minutes, but his thoughts were being interrupted by the bloodthirsty grin of Gaara and the scornful laughter of the Nine Tailed Fox. If this training failed, Naruto knew that he would be killed for sure…

* * *

Naruto had set off with Sagitario shortly after giving Sakura, Shikamaru and Lee his farewells. Much to the total surprise of Naruto, Sakura actually seemed tearful upon finding out that she most likely wouldn't see him for the next fifty-two days. Lee also looked a bit disappointed that he wouldn't get a chance to practice with one of his main rivals. Even Shikamaru seemed grouchier than normal. Naruto just grinned and promised that he would make it up to them once his training was over.

Naruto then traveled with Sagitario for the greater part of three miles out of the village to a remote mountain area. A crystal clear waterfall ran down the side of this mountainous region. All of the colossal rocks were covered in a thin veil of cool mist. The moisture in the air was the cause of a constant rainbow that hovered over the area indefinitely. The region also had its' fair share of grassy plains and hills that were parted by a large river. The river ran into a beautiful lake that had its' own mountain directly in the center. There were also many forests of bamboo scattered here and there.

Naruto felt a deep sense of joy and admiration. Needless to say, this place was very beautiful and peaceful looking. Sagitario smiled knowingly.

"Welcome, to your new home for the next two months, Naruto-kun," said the green haired ninja while brushing his bangs out of his eyes due to a wonderful breeze that had picked up.

"It's nice," commented Naruto honestly.

"Indeed," agreed Sagitario. "Come."

Sagitario and Naruto headed towards the mountain with the largest waterfall. As they reached the base of this mountain, Sagitario pointed directly towards the falls itself. The blond stared in the direction Sagitario had pointed but he didn't see anything out of ordinary about the falling wall of water. He gazed back at Sagitario in confusion.

"Look again," instructed Sagitario with a kindly smile while forming a never before seen hand seal.

Naruto did so and felt his eyes grow wide with awe. The wall of water had briefly assumed the shape of a winged sea dragon that covered itself completely with its' wings save for one glowing eye. The image then washed away before the falls itself divided into two. The rocky surface behind the parted falls then split to reveal a large gateway that had been completely invisible behind the wall of water. Unless one knew it was there, there was no chance of the entrance being founded!

The gateway was made of solid stone that had writing etched into it in a language that Naruto didn't recognize. Sagitario read it to him.

"Over the mountains and across the ocean, a lone shadow came to this world. Born of thou who are pessimistic, it very nearly destroyed this fragile world. Destined to survive, the elements gave rise to its' greatest protector. The king whose wings summoned forth the north wind. The king whose breath razed his foes to cinders. The king whose body wore the armor of the earth itself. Lighting and water, its' servants. Thou who seeks to wield the power of the Dragon Lord, thrust the tool of our kin within the jaws of the king. In repetition of seasons, this shall be the key that binds us."

With each line of text Sagitario completed, the very center of the gateway started to morph until a stone dragon head appeared. The statue opened its' mouth in accordance to the legend that Sagitario had just translated. Wordlessly, the green haired ninja drew his sword and slid it into the creature's mouth. Sagitario then gave the sword a twist until the unmistakable sound of a lock opening rang out. The ground then started shaking as the stone doors slowly slid open.

"After you," invited Sagitario with a mocking gentleman bow.

Naruto gulped. The passage that had been revealed appeared to be a tunnel of some sort. It was extremely dark and didn't look like it would end anytime soon. Only after Sagitario reassured him that it was perfectly safe did the blond start to advance. He had gone no more than five steps when a pair of torches suddenly burst to life with dancing flames. It was startling at first, but the appearance of light gave Naruto a bit of comfort.

The blond continued walking forward with Sagitario right behind him. The ignition of torches became frequent with every five steps that the duo advanced. Naruto used the added light to get a good look around. The floor was sparkling due to the fact that it was highly polished marble. The tunnel walls were almost as smooth as the surface of a mirror and slightly cold to the touch. Honestly, the only hint that Naruto was walking into a mountain was the fact that the ceiling was still rocky and had an occasional bat stirring in its' sleep. Naruto was beginning to wonder just how long ago this place had been inhibited.

"This place has been a home to the Dragon Clan for the better part of fifty years. It was discovered not too long after the first Hokage created the forest of Konoha," answered Sagitario as if he had read his mind.

"Um, just how many people live here, Sagitario-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"If I had to guess, about two-hundred or so," replied Sagitario thoughtfully.

Naruto let loose an impressed whistle. The more he heard and saw, the more he wanted to get to the main area. Sensing Naruto's energy, Sagitario smiled.

"We'll be there in a few minutes, Naruto-kun," hinted Sagitario.

The rest of the short five minute journey was quite after that. Sure enough, the tunnel ended with a light filled opening. The duo advanced through it…

* * *

Naruto was expecting a lot of things when it came to the Dragon Clans living conditions, but what he saw blew his mind away. Within the heart of the mountain he stood in, was an entire town floating upon an underground lake! The town itself could've been a miniature Konoha. There were numerous temples, shrines, stone house, as well as a large town square. The most eye catching building was one giant temple that wasn't much smaller than the Hokage monument.

Large crowds of people were going about their daily routine. Some walking across wooden bridges to get to the stone platforms supporting different sectors of the town. Their were five main sectors and a dozen smaller sectors all arranged like a pentagon of islands. Waterfalls ran gently down the walls of the inner mountain to several canals leading out of it. The water was littered with hundreds of blossoming lilies that gave off a rich scent likened to that of a garden of roses and orchids. Four great hills packed full of flowers, and young maidens caring for them, completed the look.

Naruto was certain that he had discovered heaven on earth. Sagitario placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Let's get you settled in, then I'll give you a tour," offered the green haired ninja.

"Okay!" agreed Naruto excitedly.

They passed through several of the smaller sectors and two of the main ones to arrive at a almost hotel like building. During the walk to said place, Naruto was both surprised and pleased at the fact that passer-bys never shot hateful glances at him like the citizens of Konoha. As far as they were concerned, Naruto was no different than any of them and thought of as more of a welcomed guest. Some of the women even offered bouquets of flowers as greetings. Naturally the blond was already thinking of asking to become a clan member just so he could stay.

Inside the building, Sagitario immediately set about booking a room for Naruto. The kindly old lady who ran the place took an instant liking to Naruto not unlike that of a grandmother.

"Poor dear, you must be hungry yes?" asked the woman with a smile.

Naruto nodded meekly. Truthfully he hadn't eaten anything but an apple since he woke up. His stomach rumbled quite loudly causing the blond to blush. The woman smiled and had Naruto sign a lodging form before handing him the keys to his new temporary home. She then set off to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Naruto and Sagitario went upstairs to see his room.

Like everything else he had seen, Naruto's room was a sanctuary of perfection. The walls were a slightly tan color that matched the wooden floors nicely. A balcony was present with silky white curtains fluttering in the breeze conjured up by one of the many waterfalls. Naruto had a gorgeous queen sized bed that was fluffy and extremely soft, and that meant comfort. Unlike at home, Naruto's new room had one of those rarely owned television sets. A mini refrigerator, stocked with plenty of snacks, completed the bedroom area.

Naruto nearly had a field day when he went to check out the bathroom. The floor and walls were made of a shiny marble. The eye candy was the bathtub, that was big enough to be considered a personal hot spring. It was directly in the center of the floor and already filled with steaming hot water and perfumed bubbles. The only thing that was plain about Naruto's new pad was just the toilet. Everything else was, for lack of better words, awesome!

"This place is great, Sagitario-sensei! But I don't think I could afford to stay for very long," said Naruto while fiddling with his Gama-chan wallet.

"Put it away, Naruto-kun. I've pulled a few strings, so you'll be staying here for free," announced Sagitario in amusement.

Sagitario nearly fell over when Naruto plodded into him for a happy hug.

"Hey hey, stop that, Naruto-kun!" protested Sagitario.

Naruto relinquished his hold and started bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. His eyes more or less said "What other cool places are we going to see?" The green haired ninja couldn't blame Naruto for his sudden energy rush. No doubt he would've done the same if he were in Naruto's shoes.

"I'm glad you like it here, but remember this isn't a vacation. Train hard, alright?" reminded Sagitario.

"Yes sir!"

"Good, now if you're ready I'll give you a tour," offered Sagitario.

The blond readily agreed and the two found themselves outside of the building once more. Sagitario handed Naruto a scroll with a detailed map of the area.

"Okay, first off there are seventeen sectors to town. Starting with the main five, we have sector A which is the site of the weapons training dojo and combat field. Sector B, is the site of Ninjutsu training area. Sector C is the main library where we store extensive historical texts and all purpose training manuals. Sector D is the most important, this is where we have our Genin attempt to learn some of our most powerful ninja arts which includes a particularly difficult summoning technique that hardly anyone is able to master. Lastly, sector E is our armory and teleportation Jutsu chamber," explained Sagitario. "You'll want to become familiar with these places Naruto-kun, most of your training will take place in them. But I'm sure that Genmaru and a few subordinates of mine will be able to show you these places better than I could so I'll just show you around the other sectors of town."

"Okay," agreed Naruto.

The first place Sagitario took Naruto too, was the town square near the southern most island. As it turned out, this was the place to be when it came to buying ninja supplies. This place had three types of shops, one dealing in weapons, one dealing in clothing and the last selling ninja tools. Naruto found this helpful since his shuriken and exploding note supplies were starting to run low. But the main reason Sagitario brought Naruto here was to buy stronger and heavier leg weights. In no longer than an hour, Naruto had been fitted with exactly one hundred and twenty pounds per leg and his arm weights had been upgraded to ninety pounds per arm. Just like before, the blond could barely move around in his new gear. For that, Naruto was grateful. He knew that in time, the added weight would hardly be noticeable.

After paying for his new gear, Naruto and Sagitario set off for the next sector. This one turned out to be dedicated to medical herbs and cooking spices. Sagitario took that moment to explain to Naruto the importance of being able to make use of the ability to identify healing herbs when on a mission in the wilderness.

"While it may not be necessary during the Chuunin exam, I would feel safer knowing that you had some medical experience. So allow me to introduce you to one of your trainers during the next fifty-two days," said Sagitario while guiding Naruto to a greenhouse like building that smelled strongly of some relaxing fragrance.

The place was fairly packed with shopping maidens seeking to add to the town's growing flower reserves. Herbs and rare flowers filled the shop with a rich array of colors and aromas. However, Sagitario was only focused on one blossom in particular. The owner and super cute medical herb expert of the shop whose name was…well…Blossom.

Blossom had long green hair and emerald eyes. She looked to be in her twenties and dressed the part in a long purple dress with an apron in front. Blossom regarded them with a bright smile that screamed cuteness. Naruto suspected that the only reason Sagitario wasn't flirting with her right then and there was because of the shiny wedding ring on her finger.

"Sagitario-san, you've come early. Your roses haven't matured yet," greeted Blossom sweetly.

"Yes, I know," responded Sagitario warmly. "But, I couldn't resist seeing your lovely smile today. Why the flowers flourish in the wake of your beauty."

Naruto rolled his eyes while Blossom giggled in delight. The lecherous ninja never gave it a rest.

"That's sweet of you to say, but surely that can't be the only reason you've stopped by," said Blossom knowingly.

"Ah, as perceptive as always. I've actually come on behalf of a training program set up by my student. Pray would you be willing to include this young man in your medical courses?" asked Sagitario while gesturing to Naruto.

Blossom smiled sweetly at the blond.

"May I inquire your name?" asked Blossom.

"Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a friend of Genmaru," replied Naruto with gusto.

"I see, well you're in luck, Naruto. I have a few more openings available in my class. Will you be able to attend the first meeting at the Sector C temple next week?"

Naruto looked to Sagitario who nodded in the positive. The green haired ninja did know what Naruto's training schedule would be like after all.

"Yep, I'll be there!" replied Naruto.

"Great, just write down your address and I'll have my younger sister escort you to the meeting," said Blossom cheerily while producing a notepad.

Once Naruto wrote down the name and room number of the hotel he was staying in, Sagitario excused them from the shop with a friendly kiss to Blossom's hand. With that, the duo moved on to the next sector of town. This turned out to be a bustling market place that dealt strictly in fruits, vegetables and fish. Many of the stands sold exotic things such as bananas, pineapples and the highly expensive coral trout. Nothing that Naruto would need during his stay, but most likely the cooking ingredients that Genmaru used often.

The remaining sectors consisted of the four flower shrines that Naruto saw earlier, one packed to the bursting with restaurants, and the last three being row upon row of houses. The blond had quite a bit of fun trying to guess which home belong to Elaine, Domino and Genmaru. They never went to any of them of course, but Sagitario hinted that in time he would get that chance.

With the tour now done, Sagitario escorted Naruto back to his pad so that he could rest up for his first day of training tomorrow…

* * *

Once left alone, Naruto enjoyed quite a feast prepared by the hotel owner along with a streaming hot bath. He now laid wide awake despise the comfort of his super soft bed. The blond most likely owed his inability to sleep that night to his growing excitement about his upcoming training.

"_Who am I really training to defeat? Gaara, Neji or maybe Sasuke? And when the time comes, will I really be able to do it?_" Naruto's mind buzzed with many of these kind of questions.

"_**Why are you so worried, brat? Thanks to me, you have power like no other.**_" grumbled the voice of the Nine Tailed Fox.

"_Maybe. But I don't feel anything at all, unlike that time we fought Haku_."

"_**Ahou, our chakras are now fully synchronized. Of course you won't be able to feel the changes anymore.**_"

"_I don't understand_."

"_**You don't pay much attention do you, brat? Think back to what the old man said, by fighting me on even footing you will be able to call upon my chakra at will. However, the most you'll be able to draw on your own is two-twelfth of my maximum.**_"

"_What? Why can't I use all of it?_"

"_**Trying to extract more than two-twelfth of my power will cause gradual damage to your feeble human body. Before, your body tried to reject my chakra to prevent this. Now that is no longer the case, so only I can unlock the remainder of my power.**_"

"_What's the worst that could happen if I take more than needed?_"

"_**I did say that your body would become my tool of death when you died. That should be answer enough to your questions.**_"

Naruto rolled onto his side, use of the Kyuubi was way too risky. Based on what he heard, Naruto knew that the fox was only to be used in times of life or death. He only prayed that such a time would never present itself…

* * *

Just as they had agreed upon, Naruto met Genmaru at training field number eight early that morning. The irony of the meeting was that training area eight was one of the bamboo forests directly outside of the mountain. Naruto found Genmaru waiting patiently in a spacious clearing with his arms folded and his eyes closed. Genmaru slowly opened his eyes once Naruto was five feet away. For a moment neither of them said anything at all, then Genmaru finally broke the silence.

"Are you ready, Naruto? The training we'll be doing will probably be the most difficult you've ever experienced," begun the misty eyed ninja darkly.

Naruto nodded that he was ready to begin while trying to keep the butterflies in his stomach under control. Genmaru smiled proudly and gestured for Naruto to follow him deep into the forest. As they traveled, Naruto thought he heard the sound of rushing water. This became apparent upon arriving at a stream, two empty buckets attached to either end of a wooden pole was laying next to it.

"Starting now, I want you to come to this place every morning. You must filled these buckets and carry them up the side of the mountain. Once you do this, come back here and we'll start the daily training exercises," instructed Genmaru. "Do you know why I want you to do this?"

"You want me to build up my endurance?" guessed Naruto.

"Partially yes," confirmed Genmaru. "My goal here is to force your body to adjust to the steadily increasing weights that you will be wearing during the main exercises. Also, as you said I need you to improve your physical stamina in addition to your maximum chakra capacity."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Okay, by the time we get back, she'll be here. Let's get started."

Naruto didn't know who Genmaru meant by she, but whoever it was would surely aid him in his training. Not thinking much of it, Naruto focused instead on filling up the buckets with water. The blond grunted due to the added weight of the water on his already burdened arms. He then turned around and gasped in surprise upon seeing Genmaru carrying water buckets as well. The misty eyed ninja grinned.

"You didn't think I was going to make you do this alone did you?" teased Genmaru before setting off at a trot towards the specified mountain.

Naruto grinned and followed after him, albeit much more slowly since his body wasn't used to his weights yet…

* * *

An hour had passed by the time Naruto had reached the base of the mountain. Genmaru, on the other hand, was more than halfway up and still climbing. The first thing he noticed was that the moisture from both the mist and waterfall made the rocks rather slippery. In his current state, Naruto was expected to climb to the summit, without using his hands, on ridiculously heavy legs. Naruto was breathing pretty hard already just from trying to reach the mountain, but he bravely advanced to start the first rocky footfall.

Naruto's legs protested to the bitter end as he lifted them one after the other. The blond only paused from time to time to seek out outcroppings and footholds. His gratitude was at an all time high to Jiraiya and Kakashi for teaching him how to obtain mastery of chakra control. His chakra fueled feet made it much easier for him to keep his footing. Still, Naruto couldn't help but shoot envious glances at the goat like way Genmaru was hopping up the mountain.

Naruto wasn't sure if Genmaru was wearing weighted training equipment or not, but his surefootedness was a sign that he had done this many times. Not wanting to waste any more precious training time, Naruto sped up as much as his bogged down body would allow…

The next ten minutes were problem free and Naruto had gone as far as one-third of the way to the summit. However, the further he went the slipperier the rocks became. That was when the trouble started. Although use of chakra made the climb simple, it was made many times harder where water soaked surfaces were concerned. Naruto gave a startled cry as his left leg slipped on the outcropping he had been aiming for. Desperately, Naruto's hand shot forward in search of something to catch his fall with. This resulted in the blond dangling from his right hand alone with more than five-hundred pounds of weight.

Naruto could feel his grip loosening as he hung from his screaming arm. Naruto's face shone with sweat despise the cool, moist air of the mountain. The blond gritted his teeth while trying his best to pull himself up to decent footing. Alas, he may as well have been trying to lift a sumo wrestler for all the good it did him. This time, death had assumed the form of a one hundred an twenty foot drop.

"Damn it!" hissed Naruto as his fingers begun slipping. "_I don't know if this'll work, but I have to try it now!_"

Quickly Naruto closed his eyes and focused upon synchronizing his chakra with that of the Nine Tailed Fox. Just as it did in the hospital, Naruto's regular aura became violet and easily five times its' normal size. Although he didn't feel the change very much, he knew that he had become stronger and faster than before. The mountain trembled under the pressure of Naruto's power as he almost effortlessly pulled himself back up to decent footing. Not wanting the training to become too easy, Naruto released the fox's chakra leaving him with just his own again.

Naruto clung to the rocks for dear life while gasping to catch his breath. Just like Jiraiya promised, Naruto had been able to call on the fox's chakra at will! Even though the beast had killed him, he must've fulfilled the requirement needed to make it all possible.

"Old man…I owe you big time…" gasped Naruto with a grin. "_You also have my thanks, fox_."

"_**Save your feelings of gratitude for someone who cares. Besides, don't you still have a mountain to climb?**_" said the fox in a more lukewarm tone than his cool statement let on.

"Yeah," replied Naruto before setting off once more for the summit…

* * *

The remainder of the trip was just as dangerous, but largely uneventful. Once on the summit, Naruto set the water buckets down and sprawled tiredly on his back. Genmaru sat quietly nearby, munching on an apple. He smiled in a congratulatory manner towards Naruto as he rose and strode over to his exhausted training partner.

"Good work, Naruto. Welcome to Hongoku no Xiaoyu, the True Heaven of the Morning Rain," said Genmaru while helping the blond to his feet.

Once more, Naruto was stunned by how beautiful a place could be. The rocky ground was covered in a layer of sparkling frost. The frozen ground was only penetrated by the occasional winter flower, the daffodil. The only place that was completely untouched by frost was a large spring with several tall wooden poles scattered here and there. A small shrine with an old monk meditating inside completed the landscape.

The monk was rather thin in appearance and had a wrinkly face. He was wearing simple gold colored robes and a straw hat. His skin was slightly gray in appearance due to lack of exposure to the sun. The monk wore no shoes since the sole of his feet looked extremely leathery in appearance.

Naruto raised a quizzical eyebrow at the sight of the monk. Genmaru just chuckled before walking forward and bowing respectfully. He then set his water buckets before the monk as an offering. Naruto followed Genmaru's lead and offered his water buckets as well. The monk then opened his eyes revealing that he was in fact blind.

"Master Glen Xiaoyu, we've come to receive training from you today," requested Genmaru before bowing once more.

The monk clashed his fist to his palm and bowed back before rising to his full height. Without a word, the old man exited out the side door of his shrine and walked to the circular springs. Genmaru and a puzzled Naruto followed after him. Upon reaching the springs the old man leaped, with youthful energy that seemed impossible for his weathered body, upon one of the beams sticking out of the water. He balanced effortlessly on one foot while patiently waiting. Genmaru faced Naruto and smiled.

"Naruto, your assignment is to fight with master Xiaoyu on these poles. Try to last as long as you can without falling into the water," instructed Genmaru.

Naruto gave a start.

"But he's blind!!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Indeed he is, but don't be fooled. Master Xiaoyu is the second oldest member of the clan and more than a match for half of the clan members. If you engage him half heartedly, you will be beaten every single time," said Genmaru seriously.

Naruto was still skeptical that a withered old skeleton could possibly be that powerful. Nonetheless, he decided to take Genmaru's advice to heart and not underestimate the old man.

"Are there any handicaps?" asked Naruto cautiously.

"Just two," confirmed Genmaru. "First off, you must keep your weights on at all times. Secondly, you must take his hat before you knock him into the water. Fight however you want, he'll be your opponent for the next three hours."

Naruto nodded in understanding before hopping upon one of the poles. The blond teetered and wobbled a bit, but soon managed to center his balance on his left leg. Naruto then faced the old man determinedly. Master Xiaoyu pressed his hands together and silently bowed. Naruto did the same, if a bit shakily, before they both straightened up.

Master Xiaoyu spun his arms in a loose windmill with his back straight before he then sank into a fighting stance that Naruto had never seen before. It was in some ways similar to the Juken style stance that Hinata used, but the differences stood out more. Most noticeable was how relaxed the stance was, as if the old man's body knew that it wouldn't lose. Master Xiaoyu's right foot stepped forward onto a pole directly in front of him while he slightly raised the heel of his left foot. He leaned forward just a little bit while evenly spacing out his hands, open palmed. The pose strongly reminded Naruto of a river.

How the old man was able to find his footing was at a lost on Naruto. All the blond knew was that the moment he assumed his normal self styled stance, the old guy rushed him as a speeding blur. A spray of spit shot forth from Naruto's mouth as Master Xiaoyu smashed his fist into his stomach. Naruto didn't even have time to grasp his throbbing stomach before the old man flipped over his shoulders to land on a pole directly behind him. Naruto then howled in both pain in alarm as the old man slammed a chakra fueled elbow into his back sending him flying to land with a splash into the spring water.

Fortunately it wasn't deep but Naruto's humiliation knew no bounds. He had been bested by somebody's grandpa! Genmaru offered a hand to the soaked blond and much to his relief didn't laugh at the hilarious scene, though he was grinning in amusement.

"What happened?" groaned Naruto while trying to ignore the smarting pain in his back.

"I did warn you," said Genmaru with a chuckle that he couldn't suppress. "Master Xiaoyu is the legendary king of the Flowing River fighting style. It's an occult style that combines three different fighting styles you'll be learning. It's not surprising that you got beaten on your first try."

"That's not it! I just let him win!" lied Naruto with a sweat drop. "I'll get him next time for sure!"

Genmaru saw through the cover up story and merely laughed. Naruto laughed with him but quickly grew thoughtful.

"It's strange, that old guy is blind isn't he? So how is he able to fight like that?" asked Naruto.

Genmaru gave him a sidelong look before shifting his gaze to Master Xiaoyu.

"You don't necessarily need your eyes to fight well, Naruto. Sometimes, you need to let your other senses be your eyes," replied Genmaru. "Sometimes simple things that we take for granted work just as well. Smell, sound, vibrations, feel, instinct…all of these are like a third eye."

"I see," murmured Naruto as he considered this.

Honestly it made a lot of sense, Naruto knew since he was always dealing with handicaps. This further fueled his motivation and without another word he hopped back onto the poles again.

"Well then, I'll just have to do the best I can!" declared Naruto before assuming his stance again.

Master Xiaoyu did likewise while Genmaru nodded in proud approval. Naruto then fueled his muscles with chakra while stumbling forward to try again…

* * *

Three hours passed rather quickly and Naruto was no closer to taking Xiaoyu's hat than inventing a homing shuriken. Even with the Shadow Clones Naruto didn't fare any better, though it may have been due to how difficult it was to move when all the poles were occupied. By the looks of things Naruto's only chance was to improve his Taijutsu skills.

Naruto grumpily wrung out his water filled jacket and pants before he and Genmaru bowed their leave for the day. All three of them knew that tomorrow morning would be a repeat of this embarrassing battle. Naruto and Genmaru took their empty water buckets and begun the much easier descend to training field number eight. The duo engaged in conversation once they reached the base of the mountain…

"Say Genmaru, does that old guy ever speak at all?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Alas no, Naruto. Master Xiaoyu is a mute, he hasn't spoken in quite some time now," replied Genmaru.

"Oh…why's that?" asked Naruto.

"Well, I'm not sure. No one knows really, but rumor has it that he stopped talking shortly after the death of Konoha no Shiroi Kiba."

"White Fang?" echoed Naruto.

"Yeah, I thought you would've already known," said Genmaru with a look of surprise. "Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi-sensei's father. He was Master Xiaoyu's student and best friend twenty years ago."

"Whoa, I had no idea!" exclaimed a stunned Naruto.

"That say that his abilities are comparable to that of a Legendary Sannin. However, certain circumstances lead him to commit Seppuku. I would tell you more, but it's best that you get the rest of the story from Kakashi-sensei. It's not really my place to be telling you this," said Genmaru apologetically.

"I understand," replied Naruto absently as he mentally analyzed the information he gained.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Genmaru gave Naruto a curious look.

"Naruto…what exactly did you do during your chakra control training?" asked Genmaru with the question that had been on his mind for some time.

"Huh?" grunted Naruto who hadn't heard the question due to his brooding.

"When we were climbing up to train with Master Xiaoyu, I sensed a really powerful surge of chakra. It was only for a few seconds, but it felt a lot like yours," revealed Genmaru.

Naruto froze in his tracks and gave Genmaru a look of both surprise and uncertainty. Naruto knew that because of the law forbidden anyone to speak of the passenger sealed within him, only the adults knew about the Kitsune. The law was most definitely punishable if broken, however there was quite a few loop holes in it. Because Naruto now knew about his tenant thanks to Mizuki, it didn't apply to him if he told anyone about the Kitsune. After all, Naruto was suppose to be keep in the dark about the Kyuubi as well to protect himself.

Still, as much as he longed to tell Genmaru about the Kyuubi, he didn't want to risk the possibility of being rejected by one of the few people who accepted him. To say the least, Naruto was terrified of that more than anything else. So as to keep from seeming out of character, Naruto forced a grin to his face.

"Heh, I must've gotten stronger after training with Ero-sennin!" replied Naruto with only part of the truth.

Genmaru continued to stare so Naruto filled Genmaru in on everything that happened except for the part about going back to the past. Genmaru grew thoughtful once Naruto's tale came to an end.

"So you received training from Jiraiya-sama," summarized Genmaru.

Naruto nodded in confirmation.

"Did you know him?" asked Naruto.

"No, not personally. I've only heard of his training methods. Still, I don't understand where all of that power you generated came from," replied Genmaru with a frown of deep thought on his face. "Are you certain that there isn't more to it than what you've told me?"

Naruto once more considered the possibility of telling Genmaru his secret, but in the end he just wasn't ready yet.

"No, that's all," replied Naruto quietly.

Not wanting to press on a sensitive issue with Naruto, they made the rest of the trip in silence…

* * *

Lee gritted his teeth as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. His opponent was skilled, really skilled. But in the end all of his planning and calculations boiled down to one last move. Lee took a deep breath, then he finally acted.

"Check!" cried Lee as he cornered Shikamaru's King with his Rook.

Shikamaru merely smirked before calmly moving his Bishop into position.

"Checkmate!" said Shikamaru coolly.

"Whaa…" moaned Lee with saucer sized eyes. "Wait, I call a do over!"

Sakura sighed. It had only been a day and already Sasuke and Naruto's absence had depressed her. Lee may have been a great listener but most conversations tended to lead to Naruto and the power of youth. Ino wasn't much better, as a chat with her normally turned into an argument over Sasuke-kun. Chouji was always about food and Shikamaru was…well…Shikamaru.

The bubblegum haired girl never saw Domino and Elaine around either. Everyone was simply too busy getting ready for the Chuunin exam. The most fun she ever got these days was watching Lee lose to Shikamaru whenever they played chess.

"_Maybe I should start training too…_" thought Sakura as she gazed out of the window she was sitting next to.

Sakura saw a swan fly by into the distance. She smiled with twinkling eyes at how beautiful the bird was. Maybe it was a sign of good things to come…

* * *

Naruto and Genmaru arrived at the clearing they had started from to find it completely empty. Naruto was instantly puzzled.

"Wasn't there suppose to be someone here?" asked the blond.

Genmaru just rolled his eyes and held up three fingers. A strong gust of wind picked up. Genmaru put one finger down. The wind intensified as leaves begun swirling in the forming tornado. Genmaru put another finger down. A large Naginata landed with a loud thunk directly in the center of the twister from above. Genmaru put his last finger down and ducked just as a green blur sailed over head. Naruto was blown off of his feet by the resulting wind blast that followed the blur.

A few minutes of wind tunnel like air blasts later, it all died down. Naruto and Genmaru both straightened up and dusted themselves free of leaves. A shrill female voice then rang out from the direction of the Pole Arm weapon.

"Not bad, your reaction time is still as sharp as ever, Genmaru-kun!" said the voice seductively.

What Naruto saw caused him to blush in embarrassment. An extremely cute girl with long green hair, tied into a ponytail was standing on top of the halberd. She had emerald eyes and a slender body that was clothed in a revealing lime green bikini outfit. She wore a giant green and yellow ribbon around her waist and slippers of the same colors. Her wrists were decorated with shiny yellow bangles.

Although Naruto's face was as red as can be, Genmaru remained completely unaffected in the least.

"What took you…Rose?" greeted Genmaru coolly.

The girl merely smiled before seeming fading from view in a fashion liken to the Cheshire cat. She reappeared a few moments later dangling lightly from Genmaru's neck just as Ino had done to Sasuke during the exam.

"Sorry about that Genmaru-kun, my flower arrangement classes took longer than expected," Rose whispered in his ear.

Genmaru frowned in annoyance while Naruto sweat dropped.

"_Oh great, another fan girl!_" mused the blond with a sigh.

The sound drew Rose's attention for a moment before she looked a Genmaru again.

"He's the guy?" asked the flirty green haired girl.

"Yeah, this is Uzumaki Naruto," replied Genmaru.

Rose released Genmaru's neck and landed with a soft plop on her feet. She then clashed her hands behind her back and started circling around Naruto. Once Rose finished sizing him up, she frowned.

"You're punier than I thought you would be," commented Rose.

A vein throbbed in the Naruto's temple.

"I am not puny!" cried Naruto heatedly.

"Oh really?" said Rose before flicking Naruto's nose.

"Itai!" cried the blond while covering his stinging nose with his hands.

"Can you prove it?" taunted Rose with a mischievous grin.

"Why you…" roared Naruto before moving to tackle the annoying girl.

She merely vanished from the spot like before, causing Naruto to land in a heap on the floor. Rose reappeared sitting on Naruto's back with her legs crossed as if nothing had happened.

"See, puny," teased Rose with a giggle.

Naruto growled in annoyance. Needless to say, he didn't like her already. Genmaru merely sighed before folding his arms irritably.

"If you guys are done, can we start now?" grumbled Genmaru.

"Certainly!" said Rose sweetly before getting off of Naruto's back.

The blond quickly climbed to his feet and glared at her before awaiting Genmaru's instructions.

"Good. Rose, I want you to show Naruto how to fight with a staff. Once he has the basics down, spar with him a few times. I'll be back to see how you guys are doing in a few hours," requested Genmaru.

"Hang on! Why do I have to train with her and where are you going?!" cried Naruto at the injustice of it all.

Genmaru sweat dropped.

"Listen, Naruto. Of all the Clan's Genin, Rose specializes in the most weapons. A strong fighter is one that can use multiple fighting styles. As such, I think it's a good idea for you to learn all that you can from Rose. Try to bear with it for a while, okay?" pleaded Genmaru with a look of sympathy for Naruto's plight. "For your other question, I'm going to make lunch and run a few errands. It won't take me long."

Naruto reluctantly nodded his consent and turned towards Rose, who smiled with the false sweetness of poisoned honey. Genmaru didn't take any notice and vanished in a flash of high speed, leaving Naruto for some brutal torturing.

"Well, shall we get started, wimpy boy?" taunted Rose.

"My name is Naruto!!" growled the blond.

"Feh, whatever, wimp. I'll call you Naruto when you impress me," waved off Rose before producing a shiny metal rod from her pouch.

She tossed it to Naruto, who deftly caught it. The blond frowned as he examined it. There was nothing special about it save for a small button embedded into the metal.

"Push the button, genius," said Rose with a smirk.

"I was going to!" snapped Naruto heatedly before pushing the aforementioned button.

The rod shuttered for a moment before a bunch of metal cylinders extracted from either end of it. Naruto stared in awe at his new Bo staff. Rose then faded again to reappear next to her Naginata. She easily freed it from the ground and advanced towards Naruto, stopping just in front of him.

"Before we start, do you have any experience staff fighting at all?" asked the green haired girl.

"No," replied Naruto grudgingly as Rose smirked at him.

"Typical. Alright, we'll start with the most simple style. Kitoryu Staff Fighting mode two, Yanagido," announced Rose.

"Way of the Willows?" repeated Naruto.

"That's right, it empathizes flooring your opponent as opposed to attacking them. In short, it's a defensive starter style. Once you get the hang of this, we'll move on to mode one or the offensive style Heheou,"

"Bamboo King," translated Naruto again.

"Right. Now let's begin," said Rose.

Standing side by side, Rose went through the steps while Naruto tried his best to imitate her. As they moved, Naruto noticed that the style was largely circular and focused mainly on keeping the enemy at bay. Thrusts and strikes were rarely ever used and just as Rose said, sweeping moves and nerve targeting moves were the keys.

Rose turned out to be an excellent instructor and refused to advance to other steps whenever Naruto had trouble. She would just patiently show him the steps a second time and give tips on how to get the most out of that particular move without wasting energy. Once Naruto had done all of the steps perfectly, Rose had the blond repeat them again and again until they became automatic. The pole literally became an extension of his body!

Three hours passed in this fashion and Naruto was drenched in sweat. Rose, oddly enough, was as cool and sweat free as when she started. A sign that this was more of a warm up to her. Seeing Naruto's heavy breathing, Rose called a break. Naruto immediately plopped onto his back and greedily sucked in mouthfuls of air. Rose just stared before going Cheshire cat again. She reappeared sitting on Naruto's lap with her legs crossed.

"What the…hey, get off of me!!" cried Naruto with a crimson face.

"Well where am I suppose to sit, on the filthy ground!?" snapped Rose.

They glared at each other. Naruto had never encountered a personally like Rose's before. Unlike the polite and more reserved other girls, Rose had no qualms about how she behaved at all. In addition to that, Rose clearly showed no interest in Naruto save to tease and annoy him whenever possible. In short, she was a total tomboy.

"Geez, you're annoying! You make Kiba seem normal by comparison!" grumbled Naruto.

Rose grinned mischievously.

"My my, you're making quite a fuss about this! Is this the closest you've ever gotten to a girl?" teased Rose while tracing circles on Naruto's chest with her finger.

The blond flushed in both annoyance and embarrassment.

"You're a girl? Gee, I didn't notice!" quipped Naruto.

Rose felt a vein throb in her temple and she quickly pulled a Sakura right on his noggin.

"Itai!" cried Naruto with tears of pain in the corner of his eyes.

"Break time is over!" snapped Rose while rising off of Naruto's lap in a huff.

"What!? But it's only been two minutes!" protested Naruto with a comical expression of shock on his face.

"Move your ass!"

Naruto grumbled under his breath as waterfalls of tears streamed down his face.

"_How could it possibly get any worst_…"

* * *

Jiraiya let loose a satisfied ah after draining his tea cup clean. The Legendary Sannin had chosen to have lunch at a popular tea shop after a hard day of peeping at the springs. Now that that pesky blond kid wasn't around, he had even managed to get a few dates earlier. Still, Jiraiya found life to be pretty dull now that Naruto was off training at Buddha knows where. With a sigh, Jiraiya ate a dumpling and closed his eyes blissfully while chewing.

The hentai hermit heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor in front of him. He opened one eye to find Sagitario sitting across from him. The ANBU captain smiled.

"Long time no see, Jiraiya-sama," greeted Sagitario.

Jiraiya swallowed his sweets and smirked.

"Indeed, its been a while, sport," he said.

"Yeah, I figured you were back in town. You certainly left quite an impression on Naruto-kun," commented Sagitario while twirling a rose between his fingers.

"Oh? Such as?" pressed Jiraiya knowingly.

"Well, yesterday when I went to visit him in the hospital, he displayed an enormous level of power belonging to a certain fox," replied Sagitario. "Such a thing seems right up your alley. Care to tell me what you did to him?"

Jiraiya called the waitress of the shop over and ordered another cup of tea. Sagitario also placed an order for some tea and dumplings before handing the waitress his rose. She blushed before running off to ready the orders. Jiraiya then rested his chin on his clasped hands, while regarding Sagitario for a moment.

"I used a highly risky method of allowing Naruto to be able to call upon the chakra of the Kitsune. Judging by what you told me, it was successful," said Jiraiya with a smile.

"Indeed, I've never sensed such a strong amount of concentrated energy like that before. Now that he can use the Kyuubi's chakra, what did you plan to do with him next?" asked Sagitario.

"I was thinking of making him my student. The kid has quite a bit of potential as you, no doubt, already know. How is his training going so far?" asked Jiraiya.

"He has been working with some of the clan members since this morning. If I had to guess, I'd say he's doing well," said Sagitario cheerfully before growing serious. "But if you're thinking of making Naruto-kun your student, then something big must be happening. Please Jiraiya-sama, if you have any information that concerns Naruto or the village I want you to tell me now."

The waitress arrived with their orders and placed them in front of the duo before bowing her leave. Jiraiya closed his eyes in a meditative state.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Ebisu, I don't have any information that may be of use to you. All I have to go on right now are theories and uncertainties," responded the toad summoner tiredly.

"Run your theories by me, I may be able to use them," pressed Sagitario.

Jiraiya sighed before taking a swig of tea. He then stared Sagitario straight in the eye.

"Have you ever heard of a group called the Akatsuki…"

* * *

Naruto had been run ragged by Rose's increased pace. As punishment for his earlier comment, Rose immediately made Naruto spar with her without teaching him the Bamboo King style first. The result was a full hour of getting his butt wupped by Rose as he feebly tried to defend himself.

For the thirtieth time, Naruto got floored while Rose pointed the butt of her Naginata at his throat. Rose smirked wickedly while cupping a hand around her ear.

"Now what was that you said to me earlier?" mocked Rose.

"Alright alright! I'm sorry, the dirt in my eyes blinded me to your absolute beauty!" surrendered Naruto.

"Much better," said Rose before removing her halberd and helping Naruto to his feet. "Now that you know your place, let's move on to mode one."

"Yeah, okay," agreed Naruto.

Learning the Bamboo King style was much the same as the other. Rose would guide him through the steps while he did his best to mimic her. This occurred for the better part of three hours and Naruto had gotten most of the steps down. By the time they stopped for a break, the exhausted Naruto almost couldn't imagine himself fighting without a staff. This time around, Rose was also a little bit winded.

"Not bad, maybe you're not such a wuss after all," said Rose with her idea of praise.

Naruto would've grumbled an annoyed reply but his stomach choose that moment to do it for him. Rose stared at Naruto for a full minute before she broke out laughing. Naruto flushed at first, but started grinning when Rose's stomach also gave an audible growl. Rose's laughter died down to an embarrassed chuckle as she cradled her complaining stomach.

"I guess we're both a little hungry then," said Rose.

"Yeah."

"Well then, we'll just have to fix that won't we?" came the unmistakable voice of Genmaru.

The misty eyed ninja strolled into view carrying a rather large picnic lunch. Naruto had never been so happy to see a lunch box in all his life, he immediately started cheering.

"Yatai! You rule, Genmaru!" cried Naruto happily.

"Finally a man who can cook!" added Rose.

Genmaru chuckled and kneeled to unfold the blanket. He then spread out several platters of appetizing dishes. Mainly broiled shrimp and batter dipped crock fish. Naruto could feel his mouth watering already and by the looks of it, Rose was just as eager to get to the chow as Naruto. Genmaru laughed at the sight of their starry eyes.

"Well, I certainly won't detain you. Eat up guys!" encouraged the misty eyed ninja.

He didn't need to say it twice.

"Itadakimasu!" they cried before digging in.

Naruto and Rose were snatching up the seafood so fast, that Genmaru didn't dare stick his hand in for fear of it getting accidentally eaten. Fortunately there were plenty of platters and the meal passed by nicely. At least, until they got to the last crock fish. Naruto and Rose's chopsticks moved for that juicy, butter covered shell at the same time. The aforementioned due glared at each other before starting a chopstick fight over who would get the last one.

"I saw it first!" cried Naruto.

"Yeah right! Why don't you be a gentleman and let the lady go first!" shot back Rose.

"You wish! And where's that lady you're talking about?" countered Naruto.

"You fool! I'll fix you!" roared Rose.

"Guys guys, chill. I'm sure we can all come to a compromise," interrupted Genmaru as the peacemaker.

"Alright then, let's go! Janken!" declared Rose.

"Bring it on!" came Naruto.

They both stood up and reared back their arms.

"Jan-ken-shoot!" they cried before thrusting their hands forward.

Naruto had paper while Rose had scissors.

"Haha! In your face!" cheered Rose before snatching up the fish.

Naruto just grumbled under his breath. Genmaru sympathetically patted Naruto on the back with a sweat drop.

"Better luck next time I suppose. Anyway, lets resume the training now," suggested Genmaru before a glint appeared in his eye. "I want to see what you've learned, Naruto."

The blond immediately tensed and leaped back a few feet just as the misty eyed ninja withdrew and activated a Bo staff of his own. Rose stood up and pointed her Naginata at Naruto as well. By the looks of it, Naruto was in for a two on one staff showdown. Wordlessly, he activated his staff and twirled it over head before striking an inviting pose with the rod behind his back…

* * *

Sarutobi sat alone in his study gazing fondly at a quartet of pictures adjoining the wall in front of him. They were pictures of the Hokage's of Konoha. Of the four, one picture stood out in particular. Sarutobi smirked as he gazed upon the photo of the Fourth.

"It's been a long time since he left this world…" said the Third quietly.

"Yeah…" came the voice of Anko as she entered the room.

Sarutobi sucked on his pipe for a moment. He then closed his eyes as if in deep thought.

"You're concerned about not being able to kill Orochimaru," surmised the Third knowingly.

"I'm sorry," replied Anko in a confirmative tone.

"It's not important, you no longer have a connection to him. Besides, there are hardly any ninja in Konoha strong enough to defeat him…myself included," admitted Sarutobi.

"If only the Fourth were here. He could've…"

"Enough Anko. Yondaime already gave his life to protect the village, we can only rely on what we currently have," said the Third before rising to his feet. "You don't have to blame yourself anymore."

"Sir!" replied Anko at attention.

"I'm going out for a bit of fresh air. If you'll excuse me," said Sarutobi before quietly exiting the room.

Anko bowed respectfully to the Third's retreating back. Once he was no longer detectable, Anko felt the coming of tears to her eyes. The petite woman sank to the floor and wrapped herself in a hug as she started sobbing her heart out. The things Orochimaru had done to her and being unable to remember them was more than she could stand.

Anko wasn't sure how long she had been crying, but it stifled to a hiccup when a warm hand cupped her cheek. Slowly Anko tilted her head up to find Sagitario gazing into her eyes. Neither of them said anything, they didn't have to. Anko buried her head in Sagitario's chest and renewed her sobbing, now louder than before. Sagitario merely embraced her, seeking to offer nothing more than affectionate comfort…

* * *

Naruto cried out in pain as he was sent flying into the air thanks to a high speed golf swing from Genmaru. Rose sudden materialized directly above Naruto with her Naginata twirling above her head at insane speeds. The weapons master grinned before bringing her pole arm crashing down. Naruto managed to block the blow by holding his staff out in front of his face, but a sudden shockwave of wind erupted forth during impact. The blond cried out once more as he got blown away by it. Rose apparently could add her wind element abilities to her Naginata!

Naruto recovered enough to be able to perform an array of flips back to ground level. He looked up after landing to find Genmaru leaping forward for an overhead power swing. Naruto rolled aside to avoid the blow and quickly charged for a counter. Respecting the fact that Naruto's body was too heavy to use his speed, Genmaru stood his ground rather than trying to dodge. The two fighter's metal staffs erupted into hot showers of sparks the moment they collided.

In total unison, Genmaru and Naruto clashed the opposite ends of their weapons in low nerve targeting strikes. Not slowing in the slightest, they reversed it into a clash where they were pushing against each other. Genmaru then went into a shoaling spin while thrusting his staff through the lock towards Naruto's head. The blond rapidly maneuvered his head to avoid Genmaru's repeated thrusts. The misty eyed ninja landed back on his feet after a few of these and attempted a low sweep.

Naruto hopped over it and immediately performed several back flips due to Rose choosing that moment to try to split his head with her Naginata. Once upright again, Naruto shifted his grip on his staff as Rose had shown him before so that he could pull off faster swings. Genmaru did likewise before both he and Rose faded and moved in a flash respectively to appear on either side of Naruto. Naruto's skills were pushed to the max as he parried as much as he could. Still, he found himself tiring as the occasional blow was landed. It wasn't long before Naruto was sent flying backwards several dozen feet by a combined attack to his midsection. Naruto landed tiredly on his back, but he wasn't ready to quit yet.

Naruto spun his legs in a quick windmill as he rose back up in a crouch with his staff behind him. Naruto then went into a wild spin forcing Genmaru and Rose to back up a bit. Once his spin had been completed, Naruto raised his staff overhead before bringing it down with enough force to propel himself into the air. Naruto performed several forward flips to gather momentum before brining his staff crashing down on Rose's Naginata. This resulted in Rose landing on her back from the overall force.

She gasped as Naruto slammed the butt of his staff into the ground besides her head. Had he been aiming for the kill, that would've been a finishing move on Naruto's part. Naruto grinned proudly while Rose glared determinedly away from him. Rose had been defeated! So caught up was Naruto in his victory that he almost failed to notice Genmaru's incoming attack. Quickly Naruto dove and rolled out of the way.

"Well done, but don't forget that you're fighting against two opponents!" reminded the misty eyed ninja with a good natured smile.

Naruto stared determinedly, he knew full well that he had gotten lucky with Rose. He doubted if Genmaru would be overtaken by the same tactics. With that in mind, Naruto shifted his grip on his staff to one not unlike that of a sword. The pose required for Bamboo King. Genmaru nodded encouragingly at the stance before also assuming it. A breeze picked up at that moment causing both fighter's hair to sway in the wind. Once it passed, they both charged.

Their weapons rang out upon collision once they were in range. Their metal rods whistled constantly as they moved in a rapid flowing dance. From time to time they would lash out with kicks that were mostly avoided by their target. The duel proceeded like this with no clear winner for a good twenty minutes before Genmaru finally pinned Naruto's staff down with his foot. Naruto tugged frantically on it and Genmaru smirked when Naruto gave a extra hard yank. Quickly he lifted his foot causing Naruto to bonk himself on the head.

"Itai!" wailed Naruto while rubbing his head with one hand.

Naruto quickly composed himself and charged once more to continue the spar. Naturally Genmaru spun and reversed the butt of his staff right into Naruto's gut long before he got in range. Naruto had only just doubled over before he found himself involuntarily pulling off a triple spin in midair due to a rather powerful leg sweep from Genmaru's staff. Naruto landed with a winded thud on his stomach. With a groan, Naruto tried to get up again only to be pelted by dozens of stones that Genmaru was kicking up with his staff.

At some point, the pelting ceased and Naruto immediately leaped to his feet. The blond spun around to face Genmaru only to see empty air. Naruto craned his neck and found Genmaru standing directly behind him, back to back. Naruto quickly turned around but Genmaru moved with him resulting in the same back to back position. They did this twice more before Naruto growled in frustration and wildly swung his staff for a sweep.

The blond had only blinked once, but Genmaru had vanished from sight within that time. Naruto then noticed that his staff felt heavier than normal. He shifted his gaze to it to find Genmaru standing on top of it. The misty eyed ninja punished Naruto for his error with a swift bonk on the head with his staff.

"Itai!"

The blond glared reproachfully at his crafty training partner and tried to lower and swing his staff behind him for an overhead blow. Genmaru had long since pulled of a flip in midair and by the time Naruto had got his staff back down for a failed attack, Genmaru was able to land on it again in the same position. Once more Naruto took a bonk to the head leaving him completely stunned.

In his moment of humiliation, Naruto lost track of Genmaru as he vanished in a flash of speed. Naruto then felt his legs swept from beneath him from behind. Genmaru twirled his staff and pointed the butt of it at Naruto's throat just as he hit the ground on his back.

"Game over," announced Genmaru quietly before moving to help Naruto up again.

"Yatai, Genmaru-kun! Someone that puny doesn't stand a chance against you!" cheered Rose.

"I am not puny!" roared Naruto.

"You wish you weren't!" shot back Rose.

The two glared at each other as electrical sparks danced between them. Finally they turned their backs on each other with their arms folded. Genmaru sweat dropped and sighed.

"_Geez, how troublesome as Shikamaru would say,_" thought Genmaru in amusement. "Well, I thought you did pretty well, Naruto."

"Sure he did, for an amateur," Rose refused to give it a rest.

Naruto started trembling as he willed himself not to pounce on Rose. Naruto didn't like to lose very much, but he couldn't exactly get mad a Genmaru either. Truth be told, Naruto wasn't strong enough to be much of a challenge to the misty eyed ninja. But unlike more arrogant guys like Kiba and Sasuke, Genmaru wasn't the type to rub it in anyone's face. Plus, he was willingly trying to help Naruto get stronger so that he could beat him as an equal.

Naruto took a deep calming breath and smiled with his hand behind his head.

"Thanks Genmaru, but I still have a ways to go," acknowledged Naruto wisely.

"You're right, Naruto. So let's work on some of the Taijutsu styles I wanted to teach you," suggested Genmaru.

"Yeah, okay!" agreed Naruto with his old determination back in place.

Rose smiled coolly.

"Well in that case, I'll take my leave. I wouldn't want to interfere with whimpy boy's rise to power and I have some errands to run anyway," announced Rose.

"Well, alright. Same time tomorrow, okay?" reminded Genmaru.

"Anything for you, Genmaru-kun!" replied Rose sweetly.

Rose then formed a seal causing a strong gust of wind to swirl around her. Naruto gave a start before holding up his, now retracted, Bo staff.

"Hey, you forgot this!" cried the blond over the whistling wind.

"Keep it, as my gift to you. See ya!" said Rose with a wink and a two fingered salute before fading from sight.

Naruto shifted his gaze to his newly acquired staff and smiled. Maybe Rose wasn't so bad after all…

* * *

By the time Naruto had managed to drag his wary body back to his room, late that night, only one thing was on his mind. His bed was screaming his name and Naruto was more than happy to acknowledge it.

"_**Your performance today was pitiful, Kodo. You sure are weak for a Shinobi.**_"

"Ah put a sock…in…it…" grumbled Naruto between yawns as he kicked off his sandals.

"_**Make me!**_" shot back the offended Kyuubi.

Naruto didn't even have the energy to acknowledge the demon, let alone come up with a threat. The moment his head hit the pillow, he entered a deep and blissful sleep…

* * *

Hey guys, Aninene here. Finally got back in town from Renee's funeral. I meant to leave a message in my profile page but I didn't have time to log in. Anyway, I'm back now and ready to get back to work. Still, keep your loved ones close guys. You never know when they'll be gone.

Holy smokes!! I've never seen so many reviews at one time before! Yeah!!

Zsych: What can I say, you're totally right. Over use of the cannon may just be the main problem when it comes to the start of the fic. I've been taught that lesson more than once as I wrote this. :) As, far as the friendship part went. As was mention during this chapter, Naruto is recognized as an ordinary person by the clan. Most of the members aren't as hypocritical as the citizens of Konoha were plus they kind of isolated themselves from the village to begin with. So it was able to occur more easily amongst Elaine and the others because they were never exposed to much distaste for the loveable hero. Your opinion was still pretty accurate though. :)

Aj: Right! The shortest fic battle I've ever seen was three sentences! XD I love fight scenes and my motto is the more drawn out and action packed it is, the better. I'm glad you like the changes. I get an even stronger sense of accomplishment knowing that my writing skills are improving. :)

Turok1: Glad to hear it. Hopefully it has proven interesting in a good way. :)

zerodragon: Yeah, that was a lot of fun to write too! XD I had already planned it out for sometime so it barely even took two days to write and have that chapter edited. :) Genmaru's family, especially his older brother, is going to be a key point later on. I'm getting excited thinking about it! XD

Suavesky: Yeah, mission accomplished!! I'm really glad you love the fic! I guess I update so fast because of all the fun I'm having writing. Before I know it, I take a break and find myself with thirty-forty pages at a time. :) If I write any faster my arms will fall off! XP

The Great Valley Guardian: Lol, I guess that's a good thing too. XD Hope you're enjoying it, but there's still quite a ways to go. :)

Digi fan: Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it, I certainly had fun writing it! Stay tuned for even more exciting installments :)

jbalman: You've read my mind completely. :) I was reading the Kakashi Gaiden part of the manga and got to pondering about how young Kakashi dealt with the Kyuubi invasion. I also really wanted to see a rarely seen Kyuubi battle. The results were an explosive trip to the past! XD Glad you liked it.

CodeKyuubi: Alright! It's been awhile but don't worry, I forgive you. XD Yowza, the mistakes you pointed out were completely unnoticed by me. Sorry about that. (Sweat drop) Lol, I know it was cruel of me but at least Naruto had the element of surprise on his side. XD That's not a bad idea, but Naruto doesn't strike me as the sword using type. He would probably pull a Gotenks and name all of his moves before he does them, lol. Yes, the advantage of being faster than before really helped to put the whammy on Orochimaru. Ah that was fun. :P I know, Genmaru is too powerful for comfort but there's a really exciting reason for that. You'll find out what it is in around fifteen more chapters, trust me it'll explain a lot. :)

Yahoo! Lovely fun reviews reviews reviews!! Please don't stop :)

Who's idea was it to invent a disclaimer anyway. Sure it's important but talk about annoying!

I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and Elements are my own. All others belong to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto.

Lastly, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Plus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 100/100

Genmaru - C Rank

Rose - C Minus Rank

This chapter was more for building up suspense rather than going over the top with action. But our next exciting installment will get us back on the road to mad fun again! (Plus it'll be much longer lol) Stay tuned, more special characters and secrets are about to be revealed!!


	13. Brother to Brother!

**Brother to Brother!**

**Break the Limits to True Power!**

Naruto pulled himself to the summit of Hongoku no Xiaoyu with the greatest of ease. Twenty-six days had passed since Naruto first begun his training. During that time, Naruto had grown much stronger than he ever thought possible. Thanks to the daily climbs, Naruto's body was able to adjust quickly to the feel of his weighted training equipment. As a result, he was now able to handle one-hundred and fifty pounds per arm as well as one-hundred and eighty per leg! Naruto barely felt them.

The blond stood up proudly with the water buckets lazily slung over his shoulders. Genmaru whistled and grinned as he pressed the button on his stopwatch.

"Thirty minutes and twenty-eight seconds. You've beat out last week's time by a full six minutes!" announced the misty eyed ninja in pleasure.

Naruto grinned while rubbing his nose with his free hand.

"Yeah, but I'm still seven minutes behind your best time," pointed out Naruto modestly.

Genmaru pocketed his stopwatch and shook his head with an amused smile. Naruto was like Xi in so many ways, it was almost as if Genmaru had his big brother back again.

"Hah, it won't be that easy!" taunted Genmaru humorously.

"Aw man!" kidded Naruto while stomping and snapping his finger in mocked defeat.

The duo laughed.

"Come on. We don't want to keep Master Xiaoyu waiting," said Genmaru once they calmed down again.

"Right!" agreed Naruto.

They then approached the shrine to present their offerings to the blind monk. As the usual custom, they bowed respectfully while issuing a challenge to the old man. Once more, Master Xiaoyu returned the bow and advanced to the spring to wait for his opponent. Naruto swallowed as he and Genmaru followed him. In all twenty six three hour spars, Naruto had never been able to defeat the old man. The closest he ever gotten was yesterday when he had just brushed the tip of Master Xiaoyu's hat.

Naruto hopped onto a beam in front of the old man and glanced at Genmaru, who just gave an encouraging nod.

"Relax. Just remember what we practiced and you'll be fine," said Genmaru.

Naruto nodded and took several deep breaths to calm himself. Once he was ready, Naruto and Master Xiaoyu clasped their right fist into their palms and bowed to each other. Slowly they straightened up and Genmaru smiled at how much control Naruto had over his balance. Unlike the first time, Naruto never faltered or wobbled as he stood on his left leg alone.

The two warriors spun their arms in loose windmills before both Naruto and Master Xiaoyu assumed the open palmed river stance. Almost in unison, their right foots stepped forward onto the pole just between them. Naruto's foot was planted firmly on the right side of the old man's. Naruto then calmed his breathing, just as he had been taught countless times, and relaxed his muscles.

The old man started things off with a basic Hakuda style straight arm punch. Automatically, Naruto's body made the familiar countering motion of a open palmed thrust. Naruto caught Master Xiaoyu's fist with his left palm and knocked it aside with that same arm in a quick energy conserving move. The blond then blocked Master Xiaoyu's follow up punch with his right arm, palm up.

Naruto quickly thrust forward with the same initial punch as the old man. Master Xiaoyu easily slapped it aside with a crossing motion of his palm. The old man then attempted a shaoling style tower stance, involving a combination of a knee jab and a straight arm punch while balancing on his right leg. Naruto stopped both with a double forward palm thrust that moved in perfect harmony.

Once they recalled their limbs, Naruto then performed a forward snap kick in addition to a synchronized straight side-hammer punch. Master Xiaoyu knocked the punch upwards using the back of his wrist while blocking the kick with his left leg. The old man then attempted a sideways chop that Naruto stopped with his left arm.

As they recalled their limbs, Naruto carefully pulled his arms back and upwards to maintain his balance for an axe kick. The old man easily stepped sideways onto another set of poles, avoiding the attack. Naruto recalled but didn't lower his leg as he assumed the rising sun stance with one arm thrust forward and the other arm hooked behind his head. The balance offered by this stance allowed Naruto to effortlessly gather power into his legs for a speedy sixteen hit Gattling kick combination.

The old man flickered repeatedly as he dodged every kick in carefully controlled bursts of high speed. Naruto then spun after he finished the last kick and sank into a iron horse style power stance with his fists spread on either side of him. The blond performed a double helicopter kick aimed at Master Xiaoyu's head. The old man merely performed a single flip to the pole directly behind him, evading the attack. Naruto stepped forward onto Xiaoyu's abandoned pole for a double uppercut followed by a spinning backhand.

Master Xiaoyu was forced to retreat backwards for three steps to avoid these moves. The two then reassumed the open palmed river stance and begun a furious melee of circular Taijutsu fighting. Their arms collided together, open palmed. They then reversed directions with Naruto coming from below and Master Xiaoyu from above. Naruto knocked his arm away using the back of his wrist while the old guy snapped with his other arm to knock away Naruto's arm.

Master Xiaoyu attacked with a power punch towards Naruto mid section. Naruto stopped the old man's arm with his palm and canceled the move completely with an overhead palm slap downward. Naruto immediately lashed out with that same arm in a polar punch towards Xiaoyu's face. The old warrior leaned back to dodge the attack before flipping over Naruto's shoulders to the pole behind him. Xiaoyu spun around to deliver a low paralysis chop to the nerves in Naruto's leg but the blond had already spun around and blocked the chop with his arm.

The old guy thrust forward with his other arm for a bear smack aimed at Naruto's temple. The blond leaned back slightly to dodge the move before taking a bunch of sidesteps so that he could circle around behind Xiaoyu. Naruto then tried to seize the old man's shoulder only to have that arm seized and pulled forward. Naruto caught his balance by placing one foot onto the same pole that Xiaoyu's right foot was one. The two then became impossible to follow blurs of punches and rapid thrusts.

At some point they slowed down to show Naruto attempting a beheading power punch. Xiaoyu however had reversed into a spinning backlash kick into Naruto's stomach forcing him back one step. Xiaoyu then stepped forward only to turn it into a fakie by dropping into a split instead. Naruto once more found himself taking a hit courtesy of a open palmed eagle strike to Naruto's stomach, forcing him back another step.

Master Xiaoyu used a chakra discharge from his foot to rise up from his split for a strong right hook to Naruto's face. Naruto spun both arms into a windmill forcing Xiaoyu's arm upwards. Naruto then scored a power punch to Master Xiaoyu's chest, forcing him back a step. Naruto leaped forward for a trio of airborne spin kicks that Xiaoyu sidestepped. Naruto immediately pulled of the same move again further forcing Master Xiaoyu back until he was at the edge of the ring of poles.

Naruto grinned victoriously as he moved for the final flying jump kick. Master Xiaoyu was far from finished though. Much to Naruto's shock, the old man caught Naruto's foot and begun rapidly spinning. Naruto found himself sailing back the way he came to land in a perfect handstand before flipping back onto his feet. Naruto then spun around to face the old man only to see empty air.

"Nani?!" exclaimed Naruto while frantically looking about.

The blond then took note of a shadow hovering above him. He looked up in time to catch a solid kick to the cheek from Master Xiaoyu. A spray of spit erupted forth from Naruto's mouth as he was sent rapidly spinning in midair. Naruto caught himself with his legs and arms spread, saving him from an unwanted bath in the spring water. Master Xiaoyu stood patiently waiting with his head cocked to the side to listen for sounds.

Taking note of this, a glint appeared in Naruto's eye. With a growl, Naruto pushed himself back up onto his feet and fire up his chakra aura. He then dashed forward as a speeding blur. Master Xiaoyu quickly begun performing back flips every time Naruto got in range for an attack. At some point the old man ran out of poles to flip to and stood trapped between the orange blur and a fall to the springs below. Calmly Master Xiaoyu formed some seals and assumed a stance with his right fist hidden behind his left hand.

While Naruto couldn't see it, streaks of blue light were gathering around Xiaoyu's fist until it was encaged in a perfect sphere of bluish white energy. This charge up was instant and Master Xiaoyu quickly punched forward with his chakra powered fist. Naruto stomach was destroyed by the mighty monk's power packed fist!

Naruto's eyes glazed over and he sank to his knees. His consciousness had left him the moment Master Xiaoyu's fist made contact. From the looks of it Naruto had lost, or so the old man thought. The blond went up in a poof of smoke, it had been a Shadow Clone!

The real Naruto appeared in a flash and dislodged Master Xiaoyu completely with a double fisted power drive into Xiaoyu's guts. The old guy staggered back and fell with a splash into the spring water below. Before he fell completely, Naruto had snatched Xiaoyu's hat from his head in a speedy blur of his right arm. The blond grinned at his victory as he held up Xiaoyu's hat. He then bowed respectfully to the old man before he begun dancing like a madman! Master Xiaoyu shook his saggy gray hair out of his eyes, laughed and returned the gesture.

Naruto had completed the training battle that took him over three weeks to master! It had taken some work but thanks to Genmaru, Naruto had managed to learn the fighting styles necessary to engage Master Xiaoyu and win!

"Excellent, Naruto!" praised Genmaru proudly.

"Aw yeah!! Check me out now, Kakashi-sensei!" cried Naruto while striking the muscleman pose.

Genmaru sweat dropped. What could anyone say to that…

* * *

Kakashi let loose a lazy yawn as he turned another page while leaning against a rock. The grey haired Jounin was once again reading his favorite book. His cheeks turned slightly rosy as he read a particularly detailed paragraph. A sudden shockwave of flying rocks and dust drew his attention.

"Oi, could you stop doing that, Sasuke? It's just beginning to get interesting," complained Kakashi with a frown.

The Uchiha ignored him. Sasuke's breathing was heavy as he surveyed the results of his training exercises. A large hole ran completely through a large stone boulder. Sasuke took a deep breath and formed some hand seals.

"_Not yet. One more shot,_" thought Sasuke before grasping his right arm…

* * *

Naruto and Genmaru took their leave shortly after his impressive victory against Master Xiaoyu. Genmaru mentally relished in how fast Naruto had been able to move with his weights on. But the looks of it, the time to use the absolute training gear was drawing near.

Once they had reached the base of the mountain, Naruto proceeded to make his way to training field eight. He was halted by a call from Genmaru. Curiously the blond turned around.

"What's up, Genmaru?" asked Naruto.

"Well for one, you're headed in the wrong direction," replied Genmaru with a smile.

"Huh? But aren't we going to meet with Rose again?" asked a completely confused Naruto.

"I'm afraid not, Naruto. Your weapons training ends today," replied Genmaru quietly.

Naruto's mouth formed an O of surprise. Thanks to his training with Rose, he now was able to fight with staffs, Sais and Nunchaku. Naruto had displayed exceptional talent with each weapon was usually was able to master them within a week. As a positive of this Rose had finally started calling Naruto by his name, though she still teased him constantly. The thought that he wouldn't be working with her anymore was quite surprising since she was suppose to be showing Naruto archery today.

"Wha…but why!?" sputtered Naruto.

"Because, you're now strong enough to move on to the heart of the training program. Honestly, you've grown faster than I predicted. You should be mighty proud of yourself," praised Genmaru. "Don't worry, Rose already knows and is currently setting things up as we speak."

Naruto's stunned expression was replaced by one of glee. Things were starting to get pretty interesting now. Genmaru turned around and proceeded to open the hidden gateway to the clan's quarters.

"Come," beckoned Genmaru before proceeding inside.

Naruto excitedly followed after him…

* * *

Genmaru had guided Naruto to one of the main sectors of town. The place nicknamed as "The Origin of Konoha Ninjutsu," sector B. Naruto had never actually been inside of any of the main areas save for sector C. It was there that he learned how to use herbs thanks to Blossom-sensei. Currently, Naruto was able to identify fifteen types of healing herbs and five poisons. Blossom was now teaching Naruto how to make soldier pills, much to his delight.

Naruto knew that his lessons with her didn't start for another nine hours, allowing him to focus on what Genmaru had planned. The misty eyed ninja advanced to the main gates of the temple and pushed them open using both hands. He and Naruto then entered a dimly lit foyer.

Naruto waited for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Only a large metal brazier in the center of the room with a dancing flame inside was visible. The rest of the room was covered in shadow. Naruto nervously shot a glance towards Genmaru, who's face was hidden in the darkness. It was impossible to tell what his facial expression displayed.

Genmaru then begun forming never before seen seals while chanting the name of each in a language Naruto didn't recognize. With each seal made, the flame in the brazier changed to a different color. First yellow, then blue, then green, followed by gold and blood red. The flame then assumed its' normal color before erupting into a bright flash of light.

Once his vision returned again, Naruto found that five Japanese characters were glowing above five different doors. The characters displayed earth, wind, water, thunder and fire. One for each door. The kanji's glow also illuminated the rest of the room to reveal a large and intimidating statue of a realistic looking dragon. The rest of the room was bare save for a hovering sphere of light near the top of the ceiling.

"Whoa…" Naruto heard himself say unconsciously.

Genmaru turned to face Naruto with an expression of complete seriousness for once. Naruto stiffened, he knew something important was going to happen now.

"Naruto…you now have a choice to make. This shrine, is a special place that will judge what type of element you are strongest at using. In addition to that element, you must chose one other that you would like to be trained in. With our current amount of time left before the tournament starts, you will be learning one new Ninjutsu of both elements," explained Genmaru.

Naruto gasped in complete shock. At last he was going to learn new techniques! Genmaru beckoned Naruto forth as he turned to advance towards the brazier. Naruto slowly step forward until he stood just in front of the brazier, Genmaru stood off to the side.

"Are you ready?" asked the misty eyed ninja.

Naruto gulped nervously before nodding that he was. Genmaru then formed one last seal causing the fire in the brazier to jump up in one giant beam of swirling flames. The torrent of flames connected to the hovering sphere above it causing the room to change to a slight shade of red.

"Stick your hands into the flames," instructed Genmaru.

Naruto hesitated only for a moment as he stared at the fire pillar before thrusting both hands forward.

Naruto closed his eyes expecting to feel pain, but there was none. Naruto risked opening them and found that the rising flames had changed to a bright shade of green. What more, strong gusts of wind swirled throughout the room causing Naruto to rise a few inches into the air.

It soon passed and Naruto dropped with a grunt onto his butt. The flames then receded until it was more or less back to being an ordinary fire again. Naruto looked to Genmaru as if to say "What just happened?" The misty eyed ninja lowered his hands and smiled.

"Well, it would seem that your strength is greatest using wind based Jutsu," announced Genmaru. "All that's left to do now is pick a secondary element and we can start training right away."

Naruto climbed to his feet and grew thoughtful. Wind was a balanced element that was both supportive and highly destructive. That being said, Naruto thought back to the battles he had witnessed and the advice of Jiraiya about how he should focus his chakra and came to a conclusion.

"I chose fire as my secondary element," declared Naruto.

A glint appeared in Genmaru's eye as he considered that. With Naruto's enormous chakra reserves, it made sense that he would pick the equally destructive fire based style.

"Okay then, fire and wind it is," said Genmaru with an encouraging smile.

The words had no sooner left his mouth when all of the doors save for fire and wind sealed themselves once more. Naruto then felt a strong prickling sensation on his wrists. Curiously, Naruto removed his arm weights and gasped as a pair of black dragon tattoos materialized on his wrists. On his right, the kanji for wind appeared on the dragon's forehead while fire appeared on the opposite dragon's forehead. With that, the tattoos then vanished from sight.

"What just…?" begun the blond in alarm.

"Relax Naruto, those tattoos are in a way like amplifiers. They'll strengthen the effect of any Jutsu you learn in this place. You'll also need them if you're to wear these."

Genmaru reached into his pouch and withdrew a pair of dark blue arm bands similar to the ones he was wearing. Naruto stared at them curiously as Genmaru placed them in Naruto's hands.

"Those are special arm weights imported directly from Takumigakure. When you wear them, they'll seal a portion of your chakra relative to your total capacity and use it to increase the weight of the brace," explained Genmaru.

Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers. Takumigakure made ninja equipment, were top of the line items that were often extremely powerful. Naruto heard rumors that they had recently started developing armor that could absorb chakra! Naturally Naruto's gratitude to Genmaru knew no bound.

"Gosh, Genmaru! You're making me feel bad, I haven't been able to give you any presents at all," said Naruto with a sad smile.

Genmaru shook his head in the negative.

"Are you kidding? Just being your friend is good enough for me. But if you really want to repay me, give me fewer missions when you become Hokage, okay?" hinted Genmaru with a laugh.

Naruto laughed with him, but he still felt guilty. Not wanting to become depressed about it, Naruto proceeded to put the bands on. Due to how enormous his chakra was, Naruto didn't feel much of a drain. However, the bands were obviously working since his armguards grew ridiculously heavy. Genmaru smiled as Naruto strained a bit to lift his arms.

"Excellent Naruto, with those bands on your chakra will constantly be growing regardless of whether you mold any or not. As a plus, your physical strength will also be constantly tested. I reckon that by the time the remaining twenty-six days have passed, you're maximum chakra total will be nearly double," predicted Genmaru.

"But, since it's sealed now, how will I be able to release it?" asked Naruto.

"Let me show you," replied Genmaru while clenching his fists by his side.

Genmaru seemed to flicker for a moment. However, Naruto had trained quite hard these past few days and could now follow some of Genmaru's movement with his eyes. During the flicker, Genmaru had crossed his arms above him and brought them back to his side.

"Kai, Chakra no Tate," muttered Genmaru under his breath.

Instantly, Genmaru's chakra aura appeared and jumped to extreme levels! This was the very power he had used to combat Rock Lee during the tournament!! Naruto was blown off of his feet and forced to shield his eyes from the light of the enormous amount of energy Genmaru was generating.

"_So that's how he did that! Since he was muttering at that time, nobody ever heard him release his sealed chakra,_" observed Naruto.

Seeing that Naruto now had a full understanding of his mind boggling chakra levels, Genmaru resealed his chakra. Genmaru slowly exhaled and opened his eyes once this had been done.

"What you just saw Naruto, was my complete maximum. But, it pales in comparison to most of the adult males of the clan," revealed Genmaru seriously.

Naruto gave a start. The idea of anyone having more power than that was mind boggling. The only person who scoffed at that was the Kyuubi, since his chakra had almost no limit. Naruto rose to his feet and gazed at his armbands with even more amazement than before. Naruto had a feeling that he would have more aces up his sleeves than any opponent of his would be able to handle…

* * *

Domino rose shakily to her feet and begun gasping in exhaustion. Her chakra reserves where already more than half gone from the strain of her latest technique. She managed to grin as she surveyed the ruins of what used to be a mountain. It now stood as a pile of rubble and dust.

"_We have a winner! I can't wait to try it out in the tournament!_" thought Domino excitedly.

It seems that more than one person was gathering aces for the nearing event…

* * *

Naruto and Genmaru had moved on to the fire chamber by this time. The area turned out to be one spacious room with hundreds of fire Jutsu scrolls lined up on book cases. In one corner of the room, a large human shaped target had been propped up for the trainee to practice on. Two other people were in the room as well. A young girl with brown hair, a pink sweater and black pants who was holding a teddy bear; along with a serious looking guy who looked a lot like Kakashi save for his shorter bowl shaped hair and lack of emotion. They mostly kept to themselves but acknowledged their presence with polite bows.

At the suggestion of Genmaru, Naruto had decided to work on the fire Jutsu first since the wind element would be simple to master. However, all Naruto had been able to produce for the last hour were clouds of smoke. Once more Naruto begun forming hand seals and ended them with the tiger seal.

"Here goes! Katon, Karyuu Endan!" bellowed Naruto before taking a deep breath and exhaling.

A cloud of smoke was the result…

"Damn it! What am I doing wrong!?" cried Naruto after his fortieth failed attempt.

Genmaru had been carefully observing Naruto and easily found the flaws in Naruto's Jutsu attempts.

"Don't get discouraged Naruto, you're just making a few minor errors," pointed out the misty eyed ninja. "Remember, the Fire Dragon Flame Missiles is a basic starting Jutsu for a clan member but it's a Jounin level technique. Your biggest problem is that you're putting too much chakra into the move," explained Genmaru.

Naruto grew thoughtful, Ebisu had said the exact same thing to him at Ichiraku's. Something along the lines of each Jutsu having a minimum chakra requirement to execute properly.

"_So this is what he meant!_" realized Naruto.

Seeing that he had struck a cord, Genmaru proceeded to point out the other mistake.

"In addition to using too much chakra, you're not releasing it properly when you exhale. Just as it requires a certain amount of chakra, the Jutsu needs you to take in a decent supply of air so that the gathered chakra will be able to combust," explained Genmaru. "So now I want you to try again using a slower exhale and a smaller amount of chakra."

"Okay!" said Naruto with renewed determination.

Naruto was thankful that Genmaru was guiding him through the training. When it came to fire Jutsu, there was no better teacher than a veteran fire user like Genmaru. Naruto relaxed himself as much as he could and formed the required seals. Once done, Naruto gathered a smaller amount of chakra than before into his chest.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!" cried Naruto before taking a slow and deep breath.

He then took aim and fired three small fireballs at the target. The attack missed the bulls eye, but Naruto had been able to perform the technique this time! Naruto grinned from ear to ear while Genmaru gave him an approving smile.

"Excellent, Naruto!" praised Genmaru.

"Thanks, Genmaru!" replied Naruto happily.

The blond had never felt prouder of himself and Genmaru's praise made it all the better. Of course, they both knew that he still had a ways to go before he actually mastered the Jutsu.

"Okay, that was a great start. Now we need to decrease the amount of chakra you're using even further. As you saw, the flames weren't as big or strong as they could've been since you were still using slightly too much energy. In addition to that, we need to work on your aim as well as the amount of flames you'll be able to fire at any one time. You were only able to fire three out of a possible forty. That's pretty good for your first day of fire Jutsu training," said Genmaru with a warm smile before folding his arms coolly. "Now…shall we begin?"

"Heh, what are we waiting for!? It's show time!" cried Naruto while pumping his arm excitedly…

* * *

Anko's face was scarlet as she accompanied Sagitario that night. She still wasn't sure what she was thinking, but somehow she let him talk her into going out on a real date. Every person they passed was staring at them, further heightening her embarrassment. The reason for this was crystal clear.

Anko was dressed in an exquisite red dress with matching high heels. Her normally pinned up hair now hung freely and elegantly pass her shoulders. She wore no makeup, but still seemed to glow in the crescent moonlight. In short, she was gorgeous!

Sagitario looked like he was walking on sunshine as his eyes never left hers. The green haired ANBU captain had ditched his usual apparel for some black slacks, a white dress shirt and a black jacket. A white rose was tucked into his jacket pocket.

"You look lovely, Anko-chan," complimented Sagitario with a dazzling smile.

"R-really?" asked Anko nervously.

The petite woman didn't exactly have a lot of dating experience, so naturally she wasn't sure how to act.

"Really," confirmed Sagitario with a nod before taking her hand in his own. "Try to relax, I'm not going to bite."

Anko's flushing reached newfound levels due to the feel of Sagitario's warm and protective hand. One thing for sure, he sure knew how to make a lady feel special. All the female passerby sighed with expressions of dreamy romance while saying things such as "Kawaii" or "She's so lucky." Anko didn't mind, since she would probably have said the same thing if she were on the outside looking in. Still, Anko wished that Sagitario wouldn't stare so much with those tender, affectionate, beautiful eyes.

The petite woman, realizing what she was thinking, mentally kicked herself.

"_He's still a lecher!_" Anko reminded herself with a frown.

Still, Sagitario's eyes were powerful and had already worked their magic on her. Almost against her will, she gazed into Sagitario's orbs. Those eyes that were on no one else but her. Anko sighed and leaned against his shoulder. It was going to be an interesting night…

* * *

Genmaru helped Naruto home that night. The blond had used up so much chakra during the training that he could barely walk on his own. Blossom had revived him a bit using some soldier pills, but it was still tough going for Naruto. As a result, Blossom gave Naruto a break from her class for today along with a large bottle of the soldier pills that he was to take once every hour. Naruto sighed tiredly as he allowed Genmaru to half drag him back to his pad.

"Genmaru…" murmured Naruto on the way.

"Yeah? What is it, Naruto?" asked the misty eyed ninja while keeping his gaze on where they were going, lest they accidentally bump into someone.

"I'm sorry…I…" begun Naruto.

"It's okay. Your chakra was bound to run out at some point. Besides, you've improved quite a bit with the Jutsu so there's no need to beat yourself up over it," interrupted Genmaru cheerfully.

"No, that's not it," said Naruto before taking a deep breath in preparation of what he was about to say. "That day, when you asked me about the training I did with Jiraiya, I wasn't completely honest with you."

"Oh? So there's a reason why your chakra became so strong then?" asked Genmaru while gazing at Naruto out the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah," replied Naruto sadly before telling Genmaru everything that had happened, including the part about Mizuki breaking the law forbidden Naruto to know about his container.

When his tale came to an end, Genmaru looked completely surprised for a minute before he frowned. Naruto almost lost hope when he saw that frown, that is, until he noticed that it was a frown of concern rather than anger.

"What didn't you tell us sooner, Naruto? Elaine, Domino and I could've helped you fight it," stated Genmaru.

"Huh?" grunted Naruto in total surprise.

Genmaru chuckled.

"Domino would've been pretty happy to kick some fox butt," said Genmaru while flashing the thumbs up.

"_**Hey! I take offense to that!**_" growled the Kyuubi.

Naruto ignored the Kitsune and shot Genmaru an incredulous look.

"Then, you're not mad?" asked Naruto.

"Are you kidding, of course I'm mad! All this time, you were stronger than me!" cried Genmaru before merrily laughing his head off.

Naruto felt something moist slid down his cheek. Realizing that it was a tear, the blond quickly wiped it away before smiling. It was more than he could ever hope for, Naruto had finally found someone who accepted him! Naruto knew right then and there that he had gained a true friend for life.

"Thank you," said Naruto just as they arrived at his pad…

* * *

Naruto plopped facedown on his bed the moment he made it to his room. Naruto now had a pretty good idea how Kakashi had felt after his first encounter with Zabuza. Constant use of a technique tended to take its toll after awhile.

"_**What's wrong, brat? Running out of steam already?**_" taunted the Kyuubi.

Naruto groaned.

"_Don't you have somebody else to bother!?_"

"_**Well what did you expect from me? You're not exactly the best conversation partner either!**_" shot back the Kitsune. "_**Since you're going to be like that, I'll just entertain myself!**_"

The Kyuubi then begun singing the most annoying PeeWee Hermit theme song he could think of, loudly! Naruto screamed in horror at the catchy tune.

"_Alright Alright! Talk to me!_" wailed Naruto.

The Kitsune laughed evilly at Naruto's distress.

"_**If I'd known that would work, I would have done it a long time ago!**_"

"_You're evil!!_" cried Naruto. "_Anyway, what do you want?_"

"_**That tan brat, do you think it was wise to tell him about our powers so soon?**_"

Naruto rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"_I'm not sure, but it felt like the right thing to do after all this time. I mean, what's the point of being Hokage if I can't show anyone the real me? Do you have any idea what it's like to be hated for something you have no control over?_"

The fox sighed drawing Naruto's curiosity.

"_**Believe it or not brat, I know exactly what you mean. Before I was sealed I was hated for…**_"

"_Being mean and evil?_"

"_**Yeah.**_"

"_Being bloodthirsty and destructive?_"

"_**Yeah.**_"

"_Sporting some really bad breath?_"

"_**Don't push it, brat.**_"

"_Sorry,_" said Naruto with a snicker. "_But you could've used a mint when we were fighting._"

"_**Anyway, the point is that I can relate to you a little bit.**_" continued the annoyed demon. "_**The difference between us is that your friend accepted you. You're pretty lucky to have someone like that.**_"

"_Yeah…you know, you're not so bad after all, fox,_" said Naruto with a smile.

"_**Feh, I still don't like you, brat.**_"

"_Me neither._"

They both grew silent for a moment.

"_**Want to watch some TV?**_"

"_Yeah sure,_" agreed Naruto while reaching for the remote…

* * *

The next eleven days passed in the same manner, though Naruto was never able to steal Master Xiaoyu's hat again. It took some time but Naruto had finally perfected both of his new Ninjutsu techniques. The wind element Jutsu was a particularly strong one that Naruto considered his "Secret Weapon."

During the passing time, Genmaru had grown closer to Naruto than before. The two were practically brothers! Although Genmaru now knew about the Kyuubi, it didn't color his opinion of Naruto in the slightest.

After the usual morning climb and spar with Master Xiaoyu, the duo entered the clan's quarters and stopped just outside of sector A or "The Raging Dragon's Battle Arena." Naruto looked at Genmaru with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's stop here, I want to do some special chakra training today," suggested Genmaru.

"Chakra training?" echoed Naruto.

"Yeah," confirmed Genmaru with a nod. "Based on what I've heard about your Shadow Clone battle and the fights that I've seen, now would be a good time to test your chakra control training with Jiraiya-sama."

"Okay, what do I have to do?" asked Naruto determinedly.

"I noticed that whenever you attempt to use your speed, you radiate with an aura of wildly swirling chakra. You see, there's a problem with that already."

"What kind of problem?" asked Naruto.

"Basically, sixty percent of the chakra you're molding leaks out whenever you do this. In other words, you're wasting energy as quickly as you mold it. Haven't you noticed that at all?" asked Genmaru.

Naruto nodded in the negative, though he suspected the reason for it was due to the chakra offered by the Nine Tailed Fox. Thinking back to what Ebisu said, it made a lot of sense. Naruto never noticed that he was losing chakra because his reserved were on inhuman levels! Genmaru seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"I figured as much, which is why for today we're strictly going to work on getting you to use your chakra in carefully controlled bursts. If this is successful, you'll be able to fight for long periods of time without running out of energy so quickly," declared Genmaru.

If what Naruto was hearing was accurate, Genmaru was suggesting a training method that would allow him to make use of his chakra without losing any at all!

"How does that work?" asked an intrigued Naruto.

"Simple, just use the minimum amount of chakra needed to get booking and stop immediately after going from point A to point B. As you do this more often, nobody should even be able to see your aura at all. Also, since you're using carefully controlled bursts, it'll be impossible for your chakra to leak out," explained Genmaru. "This is a skill required of every male member of the clan due to how much chakra we tend to overuse during battles."

"Okay, I understand," said Naruto thoughtfully.

Genmaru's statement seemed pretty accurate. His last match with Gaara was proof of it. Considering that Naruto's first opponent was Neji, he knew that any means of conserving chakra would be doubly important if he was to survive the first round. His gaze hardened as he remembered what that guy had done to Hinata. Sensing Naruto's increased determination, Genmaru nodded encouragingly.

"Well then, lets get started straight away," said Genmaru before pushing the temple doors open.

Naruto gasped. Unlike sector B, this place was brightly lit but more importantly it was packed with dozens of other ninjas! Some were kids while others were adults but regardless of the age difference, all of them were training together.

The temple was really one massive room filled with tons of battle rings, pits with different types of terrains and obstacle courses. As Naruto looked around, he spotted kids that looked no older than five sparing on a level that even put Kakashi to shame! Others were practicing Jutsu of such strength that it was amazing that they didn't hurt themselves! The adults however, were in a class of their own. Many were moving so fast that Naruto couldn't even tell that they were in motion.

Naruto gulped as he took all this in. Naruto already knew that some of those five year olds could mop the floor with him without breaking a sweat! Dragon clan members were no joke, that's for sure. Genmaru smiled in amusement at Naruto's uneasiness and beckoned the blond to follow him.

The duo found themselves on an obstacle course that was vacant. Genmaru then turned towards Naruto to explain the rules. The blond tried to ignore the distracting battles cries of the much more skilled ninjas as he focused on Genmaru.

"This area is littered with traps and barriers. Using your speed alone, I want you to try and reach the finish line. But remember, the goal here is to use your chakra in short bursts got it?" instructed Genmaru.

"Right!" replied Naruto before advancing to the start point.

Naruto then surveyed what he could see of the course. It looked like a forest trail with murky water pools in some places. The rest of the course was hidden by thick trees and foliage. Naruto removed his leg weights and sank into a ready position while Genmaru withdrew his stopwatch.

"Get set…GO!!" cried Genmaru.

Naruto dashed forward to face the unknown. Naruto had just reached the first puddle of water when something that looked like a miniature cannon popped up. It fired off several dozen shuriken like a Gattling gun!

"_This is it!_" mused Naruto before putting on a burst of speed.

The shuriken moved in slow motion as Naruto took to the trees. Immediately he released his chakra as he had been instructed and gazed towards Genmaru. The misty eyed ninja flashed the thumbs up showing that he was doing fine. Naruto grinned and returned the gesture. Naruto stiffened when he heard a clicking sound.

"_Shoot!_" thought Naruto before fueling his muscles with chakra once more.

Naruto ducked below the branch he was sitting on and suctioned himself in place with his feet. Dozens of shuriken pelted the area he had been standing at before. Naruto then took note of all the Gattling guns hidden in the trees. Naruto gritted his teeth, speed or no speed it would be impossible to advance through the tree tops without taking a scratch by some lucky shot.

With that in mind, he knew that the ground wouldn't be any safer. The course had been rigged to ensure that some damage would be taken by all but the most skilled at speed bursts. Naruto smirked.

"_Guess I'd better kick it up a notch!_" thought Naruto with that daredevil look in his eyes.

Naruto crouched and boosted off from the tree branch to ground level. He then dashed recklessly into the forest. As expected, every single chain gun in the trees begun firing barrages of stars at him. On top of that, the first obstacle loomed before him in the shape of giant stone wall that was raising out of the ground. Cornered and unable to climb the wall due to the slippery sheet of ice covering it, Naruto turned around and begun dodging the stars with such speed that he was leaving afterimages every time he moved.

Naruto begun to laugh as he evaded star after star. After more than a month of being weighted down, the thrill of finally being able to use his unrestrained speed made him feel rather giddy. Compared to before he started training, Naruto had become many times faster. And he was still wearing his heavy arm bands too! Still, it didn't look like he was going to advance any further on the course since that giant ice wall was in the way. That is, until he came up with a rather brilliant idea.

The blond speedily performed a back flip to avoid a shuriken that was flying towards his leg. He then tapped the slow moving star beneath him and used a chakra discharge to launch himself straight into the air. Using this method, Naruto was able to "hop" on the constantly missing stars like they were a stair case. Once high enough, he quickly he took hold of the edge of the ice wall and flipped himself onto the top of it. Thus, Naruto cleared the first obstacle!

"Heh, easy as pie!" victoriously cried Naruto before leaping down to the other side of the wall.

"_**Don't get cocky brat, you're not in the clear yet.**_" grumbled the Kyuubi.

"_Geez, I never knew you cared,_" thought Naruto dryly, but he heeded the Kitsune's warning all the same.

Naruto continued to dash into the forest. He was completely unaware that three pairs of eyes were watching him amongst the treetops…

* * *

Iruka sighed after draining his bowl of ramen. Life tended to be awfully quite these days when a certain blond haired prankster wasn't around. From the looks of it, Ayame and Teuchi felt the same way.

"Still no word from, Naruto?" asked the chef.

Iruka sighed again and chuckled.

"No, not yet. But knowing him, I'll bet he's training really hard somewhere," he replied.

"That's a good thing. The main matches will really be something to see now," said Teuchi with a kindly smile.

"Naruto-kun is amazing for making it to the finals," added Ayame while serving Iruka a cup of water.

"Yeah," agreed Iruka cheerfully. "I can't wait to see how much he's grown…"

* * *

Naruto came to a stop in a small circular clearing. So far, he had avoided all of the minor traps along with the second obstacle. With just one more to go, Naruto had a good feeling that he had gotten the chakra leaking problem down. Dodging so many projectiles tended to force one to remember how to do it without so much thought being involved. Thus, it was as natural to him as walking now!

Naruto cautiously advanced forward to face the next trap. His foot suddenly sank into the grass.

"_Damn it!_" hissed Naruto while tensing.

The ground begun to rumble as a circular object rose out of the ground. By the looks of it, it was a silver cylinder with a red gem embedded into it. Once it rose completely out of the ground, the shaking stopped. The gem then begun to swivel around like an eye until it settled on Naruto. The jewel glowed for a second before a startling transformation overtook the cylinder.

It hovered in midair for a bit before cylinder arms and legs extracted from it. From the top of the bizarre thing, a head popped out of it with no features save for another gem where its' eyes would be. With that, the Cyclops thing rose to its' full height. It was easily seventeen feet tall! Naruto paled as the gem swiveled in his direction once more.

"Geez, give me a break!" complained Naruto before assuming the Hakuda style stance.

The behemoth reared back its' left arm. A whirring sound rang out before a rather evil looking mace emerged from it. With that it attempted to flatten Naruto into a pancake. The blond had already vanished from the spot in a flash of speed. He reappeared standing on the thing's arm and quickly dashed along it to the thing's face.

"Take this!" cried Naruto before hurling and exploding note at its' eye.

It detonated leaving the thing's head covered in smoke. It then felt back to land with a boom on its' back. Naruto had quickly hopped off and touched down in a crouched position a few feet away. Naruto waited expectantly but the thing didn't move. After a minute had passed, Naruto decided that the weird monster must've had enough and relaxed his guard.

"Well that wasn't so bad!" said Naruto with a grin before moving on to get to the nearby finish line.

Naruto had gone no more than five steps pass the thing when it abruptly shot up into a sitting position. Naruto froze in place and slowly glanced behind him. The thing was completely unharmed and, if it were capable of facial expressions, glaring right at him. Naruto sweat dropped.

"_**You were saying, Kodo?**_" teased the Kyuubi with a chuckle.

"Ah shut up!" snapped Naruto before turning to face the creature.

The moment he had done this, the Cyclops aimed its' mace arm at Naruto. Then, like a rocket launcher, it fired the spiked ball at the blond with surprising speed. Naruto vanished in a flash and reappeared at different points while the metal ball gave chase almost just as quickly. It was like trying to escape from a homing bomb!

Naruto mentally cursed and kept evading the speeding ball before another idea struck him. Quickly he leaped upon the gemstone on the thing's chest. At the last possible second, he high jumped to safety while the ball smashed into the stone. The Cyclops grasped its' chest as if it were in extreme pain, but it wasn't destroyed yet. Still its' moment of pain caused it to lose sight of Naruto, who quickly hid amongst the trees. He grinned while peeking out at the searching behemoth.

"_Looks like that hurt it! The stone must be it's weakness then,_" observed Naruto before forming a seal. "Tajuu, Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The Cyclops glanced towards Naruto's cry only to find eighty clones glaring at it. The thing took a step backwards while the real Naruto stepped forward.

"Ready…"

The clones begun forming seals.

"Aim…"

They all took deep breaths.

"Fire!"

If the behemoth could scream, it would've been one of pain. The gem in its' chest was bombarded with hundreds of powerful fireballs! In no time at all, the jewel shattered causing the thing to go rigid. Slowly it reverted back into one simple cylinder and sank back into the ground. All of the Naruto's cheered for their victory before going up in clouds of smoke.

"Hah, and that's how ya get the job done!" cried Naruto while striking the victory pose.

"_**As much as I hate to admit it, that's was impressive, Kodo.**_"

Naruto merely grinned before proceeding to finish the course. Apparently that giant monstrosity was the last threat since he didn't encounter any more resistance. Genmaru pressed the button on his stopwatch once the blond emerged from the course.

"Well done. I trust you've got the hang of it now?" asked Genmaru.

"Yeah more or less. But what was that thing I beat up back there?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Oh, that was one of the five temple guardians. There's one for each main sector, we just use the one you fought for training since it's the weakest of them," replied Genmaru with a smile. "They're rare artifacts from the far north. Robots I think they were called."

"Wow, that thing nearly flattened me. I'd hate to have to face the other four," commented Naruto with a nervous look.

"Well, you've seen another one of them already Naruto. That dragon statue in the sector B temple."

Naruto gulped, that statue did look rather intimidating at the time. If it was really as strong as Genmaru said, Naruto knew it would be tough to beat. Genmaru then grew serious.

"Well Naruto, there's not a whole lot I can show you in just fourteen days so we'll make use of our remaining time to work on your Taijutsu. Meet me back here tomorrow and be prepared," instructed Genmaru.

"W-what are you going to do?" asked Naruto nervously.

A glint appeared in Genmaru's eye and he smirked while folding his arms.

"In just nine days, I'm going to make you three times stronger than you are now…if you survive the training," hinted Genmaru quietly…

* * *

Naruto found himself proceeding to his last lesson with Blossom shortly after his training exercises with Genmaru. During the remaining three hours, Genmaru proceeded to teach Naruto one more new skill. Genmaru, as an accomplished master of high speed movement, knew all too well Naruto biggest weakness in that area. That being that such movement was impossible to use while in midair.

To eliminate that Achilles heel, Genmaru spent the last four hours showing Naruto how to generate and skip on a current of chakra beneath his right foot. The chakra current created would act as a temporary "ground" that Naruto could quickly use to kick off in a flash of movement. This had other benefits as well, such as allowing him to invent all sorts of aerial combat moves!

Naruto entered the sector C temple with a pleased grin on his face. Unlike the other temples, the air wasn't filled with overwhelming mixtures of chakra. The gentle atmosphere and wonderful scent of pine hinted at an ideal place to gather knowledge. The foyer consisted of a simple reception desk in front of a large statue of a Siren. A plump little man with a pencil thin mustache and a large red nose was snoozing peacefully at the desk.

To the left of the reception desk was the main library. Naruto had only been in there a few times but it always drew an impressed wow from him when he entered. The room was massive and filled with nearly a hundred bookcases. Wooden tables were scattered here and there with most of them being occupied already. Overhead, there was a dome shaped ceiling had been painted with such skill that one could mistake it for the star filled sky at night. As of yet, there wasn't a single topic that Naruto couldn't find among the hundreds of thick scrolls.

Naruto's destination was to the right of the reception desk. This room was a cross between a greenhouse and a chemistry lab. There were a number of stands littered with beakers and chemicals that gave of sweet scents. The students were mostly girls save for one guy with dark brown hair and eyes. He wore a red ninja costume along with an arrogant smirk at all times.

Naruto's eyes were drawn to one person in particular. Rose was examining a pot of blooming flowers with twinkling eyes. She flashed Naruto a mischievous grin upon catching sight of him. Naruto groaned in resignation to whatever form of torture Rose had planned this time.

"Well well, if it isn't my favorite Kaijuu!" greeted Rose while waving.

"Who are you calling a monster!?" cried Naruto with a flush.

Rose giggled.

"I heard that the tournament is just two weeks away! How far do you think you'll go?" asked Rose.

"I don't know, but I'm shooting for the top!" declared Naruto determinedly.

"Oh really? Well maybe I'll root for you if you beg me to," hinted Rose with a wink.

"Keep dreaming! I'll stop eating Ramen before that ever happens!" replied Naruto with a snort.

The two then glared at each other before they both broke into laughter. Although they constantly bickered, Rose and Naruto truly were friends. Naruto then bowed to Rose, much to her surprise.

"Thank you very much, nee-chan. I've gotten a lot stronger thanks to the weapons training we did together. Please, it would be great if you came to cheer me on during the tournament," requested the blond before rising with a good natured smile on his face.

Rose was stunned into silence for a few seconds before she folded her arms and looked away. A smile overtook her face and she gaze at Naruto out the corner of her eye.

"You've better win, I'll be screaming my lungs out for you…Naruto."

The blond grinned at Rose's use of his name. The weapons master just chuckled and flashed the thumbs up. Naruto now had one more reason not to lose…

* * *

Nine days of intense training passed quickly and Naruto found himself meeting with Genmaru at training field number eight one last time. Truth to Genmaru's words, Naruto was certain that his strength had more than doubled since it had started. During the training, Naruto's body had been pushed to the edge of its' limits and beyond.

During the first day, Naruto had to play a game of tag with Genmaru while wearing a body suit weighing nearly three hundred pounds! The hard part about it was that the playing field had been on the most slippery of all the surrounding mountains, located in the exact center of the giant lake. It took four days before Naruto had finally managed to tag the misty eyed ninja and it had been more by luck rather than skill.

Immediately after that, Naruto spent the next four days sparring nonstop with Genmaru using wooden practice swords. Naruto had been quick to pick up the technique, and seemed to constantly improve as he fought. However, the swords training was made many times harder because Naruto had been forced to fight in absolute darkness. The room they fought in had been set up to be too dark to even see one's own hand. Also, a single well placed torch prevented Naruto's eyes from adjusting to the darkness.

The results had been hours of being beaten without mercy until Naruto had learned how to sense movement, vibrations and even the slightest increase in chakra without using his eyes. By the third day, Naruto had been able to guard against almost every single attack and on the fourth he had even managed to force Genmaru on the defense a few times. This heightened sensory ability was still incomplete, but they simply didn't have enough time left to perfect it. Still, it was sure to be an invaluable asset to Naruto's growing list of fighting abilities.

For the final day, Naruto increased his overall chakra capacity through meditation. The main drill was also to get Naruto to further improve his control over using his chakra in short bursts. Naruto had managed an impressive sixteen hours before his chakra ran out completely. The blond now had a deeper understanding of why Sasuke was meditating all the time too.

With the nine days now complete, Naruto stood before Genmaru with several bandages on his cheeks, nose and arms. Genmaru remained scratch free save for one bandage on his left cheek.

"Okay Naruto, its come down to the last five days of our training time together. You now have everything you'll need to fight on even footing with anyone you meet in the main matches. Most of your moves still need work but this will have to do for now. How do you feel?" asked Genmaru.

"Really strong, but I'm so tired," admitted Naruto while rubbing his eye for empathize.

"I figured you would be. Honestly, I'm amazed that you can move at all. When I did this training, I went into a deep sleep for three days," reminisced Genmaru with a smile at the memory. "So, I know this may be a bit much to ask of you right now but would you be willing to demonstrate what you've learned from Jiraiya-sama? I'm curious to see this summoning technique of yours."

Naruto perked up at that. Honestly, Naruto hadn't attempted the Summoning Jutsu since his first successful try. The thought of using it once again was pretty exciting.

"Yeah, I'll do it!" okayed Naruto enthusiastically.

"Great!" said Genmaru joyfully.

The misty eyed ninja backed up to give Naruto some room before Naruto bit his thumb.

"_Ready, fox?_"

"_**Whenever you are, boy.**_"

Naruto willed the Kitsune's chakra to fuse with his own once again. Once more the violet aura, that Naruto had no control over, engulfed him. Slowly he raised his hand into the air…

* * *

Sarutobi, along with many of the citizens of Konoha, watched calmly as the Feudal Lords, representatives and judges entered through the main gates. Every single person looked either extremely wealthy or very important. Even the horses, ox and camels that pulled their carts and wagons along managed to seem important looking. The only thing they all had in common was the mounting excitement of seeing the main matches.

Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe and exhaled before gazing skyward. The day was at last drawing near. But a feeling of uneasiness, that couldn't be explained, had settled in the pit of the Third's stomach. Something was going to happen and, judging by his feeling, Sarutobi doubted that any good would come of it.

"_I wonder how this will play out,_" mused the Third as he watched the merrymaking crowd…

* * *

"I summon you forth…Gamabunta! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" cried Naruto.

A huge cloud of smoke erupted forth. When it cleared, Naruto found himself standing on the head of the same giant toad that Yondaime had used to battle the Kyuubi. Gamabunta was naturally just as grumpy as usual.

"What the!? Hey, where am I!?" cried the Toad King.

Genmaru's was stunned into silence at the sight of the colossal toad. Naruto then leaped forward to land on the Toad King's nose. The blond spun around and grinned.

"Yo!" greeted Naruto with the nice guy pose.

Gamabunta narrowed his eyes at the sight.

"And just who are you suppose to be, kid?" demanded the Toad King.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the guy who summoned you!" replied Naruto with a proud smile.

Gamabunta stared at Naruto for a full ten seconds before he broke into laughter. Genmaru sweat dropped at the sight while Naruto felt a vein jump in his temple.

"What's so funny about that!?" demanded Naruto angrily.

"Come now, you don't really expect me to believe that some pint sized kid could summon me, the great Toad King Gamabunta! It was a good joke however, now where's Jiraiya?" asked Gamabunta.

"But I'm telling you! I did summon you!" explained Naruto.

Gamabunta started laughing again. Naruto could feel his temper coming on and he immediately pointed at the crackling toad.

"Hey you stupid toad, I'm serious! Since I'm the one who summoned you here that makes me your master, got that!?" screamed Naruto over Gamabunta's laughing.

This shut Gamabunta up really quickly.

"What did you say to me!? You got some nerves, brat!" bellowed the Toad King heatedly. "No little punk like you is the Toad King 's master! Take this!!"

Gamabunta's tongue shot out of his mouth and moved to snare the brat riding on his nose. In a flash of speed, Naruto easily eluded the toad's tongue.

"Why you little!" cried Gamabunta before lashing out over and over again with his tongue.

None of them ever came close to touching Naruto, who was moving so quickly that afterimages were appearing all over Gamabunta's snout. A vein throbbed in the Toad King's temple.

"You're toast, kid! Try this out for size!" cried Gamabunta before bending down and leaping as high as it could straight into the air.

Naruto cried out as the force of the jump, coupled with gravity, forced the blond to his hands and knees. The Toad King then allowed gravity to seize him and they speedily descended to the ground. With nothing for the blond to grab onto, Naruto felt himself lifting off of Gamabunta's nose. Normally this would've called for panicking on Naruto's part, but instead he just smirked and almost unconsciously gathered chakra in his right foot. He then performed the aerial skip and once more vanished in a flash of speed. He arrived on Gamabunta's nose just as the giant toad landed.

"Damn it, you sure are pesky, brat!" cried Gamabunta in annoyance. "I'll admit that you're pretty skilled, but I'll never call someone like you master!"

Naruto folded his arms and grinned.

"If that's how you feel then I'm not getting off of your nose until you agree to do whatever I ask!" shot back Naruto confidently.

"Oh, is that a challenge, kid?" demanded Gamabunta with a glare.

"Only if you're not too chicken to accept. These are the terms, if you can't keep me off of your nose until the sun sets, less than two hours from now, you have to serve me!" declared Naruto.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you die, brat!" snapped Gamabunta before violently shaking his head about.

Naruto never so much as flinched as he easily anchored himself in place by focusing his chakra into his feet. He still stood tall and proud in the same spot with his arms folded no matter how hard the Toad King shook. Genmaru wisely got out of the way as Gamabunta tried a new tactic and begun frantically hopping forward like his life was in danger.

"Get the hell off of me!" cried the Toad King before attempting to smash his head into the mountain side.

Naruto quickly flashed through some hand seals and took a deep breath.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

The blond fired off a few fireballs until a big hole appeared in the giant rock's surface. Thanks to that, the blond was never harmed in the least when the colossal toad rammed its' head into the wall.

"That all you got!?" taunted Naruto, much to the irritation of Gamabunta.

"Don't get cute with me, smartass! I'll fix you yet!" roared Gamabunta before taking to the air again.

Naruto was forced to kneel at best, but he still would not come free of Gamabunta's nose. The Toad King's motive was made clear however when it dove towards the giant lake. Naruto gritted his teeth and fueled his hands with chakra while pressing them to Gamabunta's nose. Now more secured in place, Naruto took a deep breath and held it just as they hit the water.

One thing about the Toad King, he was amazingly fast underwater. Naruto felt like he was riding on an out of control torpedo as the giant toad zoomed around. Gamabunta quickly seemed to tire of this when it became clear that Naruto wasn't going to let go. The Toad King then leaped straight up into the air and freefell back into the water over and over again. Each time Naruto would use the chance to refill his aching lungs.

It wasn't until nearly an hour later before Gamabunta gave up on the water. Oddly enough, Gamabunta was smirking when it finally wadded out of the lake.

"This is the end, brat! My skin has absorbed enough water to easily repel your feeble chakra now. You won't be able to cling to me anymore!" declared Gamabunta victoriously.

Sure enough, Naruto immediately found it harder to stick to the Toad King's nose. Naruto gulped as Gamabunta tensed for some not so fun dislodging attempts.

"_Damn it, I just need to last for a few more minutes!_" thought Naruto desperately.

The Toad King once more took off dashing as if a predator was going to eat him or something. Naruto's fingertips barely held the blond in place. Gamabunta came to a suddenly stop causing Naruto to roll forward to the very edge of his nose.

"No! Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto just before he fell.

A team of clones were spawned and quickly seized hold of Naruto in mid-fall by forming a ladder. Since the clones were technically Naruto himself, the blond hadn't lost the game. Quickly they pull Naruto back up onto Gamabunta's nose, much to his irritation.

"Damn you, brat!" roared Gamabunta while trashing his head about.

Although such a move would've dislodged the blond for sure, he had wedged himself between two warts on the Toad King's nose allowing him to lock himself in place. Naruto was sure that the Frog King was going to throw a tantrum.

"Hah, what now!? You've only got five minutes left and I'm not going anywhere!!" declared Naruto with a grin.

"_Damn this brat! He's really starting to burn me up!_" ranted Gamabunta angrily.

"You can do it, Naruto!" cheered Genmaru.

The Toad King glared at Genmaru causing him to sweat drop and slowly back away. Gamabunta sighed and took a drag on his pipe to calm his nerves. He then softened his gaze a bit.

"Say kid, what did you say your name was again?" asked the Toad King.

"Konohagakure no Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage," replied the blond.

"Naruto eh? Very well then, you've left me no choice but to end this little game now," grumbled Gamabunta.

The massive toad then closed his eyes and clasped its' webbed forelegs together. In twin poofs of smoke, a pair of nine foot toads dressed in samurai gear appeared before Naruto. Gamabunta then opened his eyes and smirked.

"Now my subordinates, knock that twerp off of my snout!" ordered Gamabunta.

"Okay boss," replied one of the toads with a deep voice.

They then faced Naruto and drew their swords. Naruto gulped and rose to his full height, which barely cleared the navel of either toad. Taking a deep breath, Naruto withdrew a metal cylinder from his pouch. He then pressed the button embedded in the metal causing it to transform into the Bo staff that Rose had given him.

Naruto twirled it for a bit before grasping it like a sword. It was time for the blond to showcase his mastery of Kitoryu Staff Fighting mode one, the Bamboo King style!

Naruto took the initiative with a lunging thrust at the nearest toad. It easily hopped aside and counterthrusted, kendo style. Naruto vanish from the spot in a flash of speed and reappeared next to the other toad. Naruto power drove his staff into the guts of that toad, winding it. Naruto then swung his staff overhead and brought it down directly on that same toad's sword arm. The toad dropped his weapon, which Naruto hastily kicked away.

Naruto sensed it before he saw the sneak attack attempt from the other toad. In the blink of an eye, he had spun around and blocked the incoming overhead blow. Naruto gave a strong shove, forcing the deadlocked toad to land a few feet away. Naruto smirked, all the swords sparring he had done with Genmaru was paying off big time. Simply put, the toads were both too slow and easy to detect. With just three minutes left to go, Naruto didn't plan on losing to a pair of samurai toads.

Naruto dashed towards the sword toad and lightly tossed his staff forward before going into a spin kick. The force of the kick sent the staff shooting forward to quickly smack the startled toad in the face. By this time Naruto was in range to catch it after the pole recoiled off of the creature's face. Naruto then smashed the butt of it onto Gamabunta's snout and swung around it to score a double kick into the sword toad's mandibles. Its' tongue comically shot out of its' mouth before it swooned. The beaten toad vanished in a poof of smoke, leaving his unarmed partner alone. Naruto glared at it causing the toad's legs to start shaking.

"BOO!" cried Naruto.

That did it, the helpless toad sank to its' knees and comically begged for forgiveness. It then vanished in a cloud of smoke causing Naruto to snicker. Gamabunta sweat dropped at his subordinate's cowardice and sighed. Naruto faced Gamabunta and grinned while holding up five fingers.

"You're time is up in five…four…three…two…one!" said Naruto while putting down a finger between each number. "It's my win!"

Gamabunta glared at his newfound anathema but it was pointless to be recalcitrant now. A deal was a deal after all.

"Fine kid, I'm yours to command," grumbled the Toad King. "_At least until I find a way to 'accidentally' kill you off,_" he silently added.

Naruto shook his head in the negative.

"No, I'm not that heartless. Truthfully I don't want you to feel like you have to serve me," Naruto smiled. "If it's alright with you, I'd rather fight by your side as a friend instead of your master."

The Toad King seemed taken aback by Naruto's kind words.

"_Maybe he isn't the snot nosed brat I thought he was_…" mused Gamabunta before showing a genuine smile. "Alright then, kid. From this day forth, you'll be my subordinate. Anytime you're in trouble, just call on me and I'll help you out."

Naruto grinned and did a salute.

"Aye aye, Boss!" replied Naruto happily.

Naruto then begun doing some sort of vigorous victory dance. Not too far away, Genmaru watched this with a proud smile on his face.

"_Well done, Naruto_…"

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo! Aninene is here once again! At long last, the training periods are coming to an end and everyone is looking forward to the explosive Chuunin exam. This time around, I keep a few pieces of Naruto's full training hidden to throw in some surprises later. (It wouldn't be as fun if you knew everything he could do before hand) :)

Weee Reviews!! Lots of them too, awesome!!

Turok1: Yosh! I shall write another chapter to go in just two days, if I cannot do that I will type my ABC's one hundred times to increase my typing speed! I do this as a writer of the POWER OF YOUTH!! XD

Digi fan: Naruto learned a good deal of new tricks during his training, plus his physical training has given rise to even better Taijutsu fighting too. :) Naruto wouldn't have been able to learn half of these skills if the training had only been one month long. So what do you think of the new and improved Super Naruto? Reading this chapter over a few times, I don't think I could handle my own training plan at all. It's sounds too hard lol. XD

jbalman: The Dragon clan are living the life aren't they. XD I imagine that if the citizens of Konoha knew that such a place existed, they would flock there with everything they own except for the kitchen sink. XD It wasn't very easy but Naruto finally managed to confide enough in Genmaru to reveal his more troubling secret. Naruto doesn't know it yet, but just like you said Genmaru is the best person to confide in. He relates to Naruto in a way that nobody would've thought possible. :) Elderly folks are without a doubt the best fighters in existence. Master Xiaoyu was modeled after my Kenpou instructor, Glen-sensei. Just like Naruto, I've never been able to take his hat either. (sweat drop) Orochimaru was cold and extra evil when he fought the Third. If it weren't for the First and Second butting in, Sarutobi would've beat him easily.

CodeKyuubi: Yeah, very little cannon from here on out. :) Whoops, I did it again. XP You wouldn't happen to be an editor by chance would you? Kodo was spelled correctly but Zabuza does tend to pronounce it like that for some reason. Must be a more relaxed sound without altering the meaning I suppose.

Emron The Dragon King: I haven't decided on a gender for the Kyuubi yet, but I am considering female for some humor. :) Yep, that's Kakashi alright. He makes that book sound so interesting, yet Naruto thought it was boring. Wish I could take a peek just to see why Kakashi likes it so much! XD Say you have a lot of great ideas, I'm surprised that you haven't written a fic. I don't want to spoil the upcoming events so I'll say that Naruto may get a sword, but it'll be pretty unique if he does. I wasn't planning on having Genmaru channel energy thru his sword since that's a pretty common idea but I just may consider it now. If I do use that, I'll give you full credit for suggesting it to me. :) Good one about the sock, lol! XD

zerodragon: Yeah, Kyuubi is just counting the days until he can take over the loveable hero's body. Naruto will have to be careful not to take the Kitsune's advice too seriously, lol. XD Here's a bit of a breakdown of the chakra sync system for Naruto and the Kyuubi. (2/12) normal (3/12) one tail, still okay. (4/12) two, skin becomes irritated from heat of Kyuubi's energy. (5/12) three, body starts burning and losing life span. (6/12) four, body is beginning to burn severely from the heat of the Kyuubi's energy and losing life span. (8/12) five, dying at a rate of one day of his life span every ten seconds. (9/12 and Higher) Instant death.

Desert Mortician: Mostly Genmaru had Naruto eliminate or lessen the severity of his former weaknesses. Plus Naruto learned some new Ninjutsu. :) Also, did you notice that Naruto can use his speed a bit more easily than before while wearing his weights? Naruto became Super Naruto!! XD

shikamaru the nerd: The title of the last chapter was more of a foreshadowing thing. I don't want to spoil it, but you'll understand what I meant by that in the next chapter. So what do you think of Naruto now :)

cooltony101neo: Yay, I'm glad you like it so far! Your guess was right on the mark, Anko and Sagitario, the most unlikely couple imaginable have formed another pairing :3 (Now if only Sagitario wouldn't flirt with every pretty face he see in the meantime, lol) I can't help it, I just get all of these ideas in one sitting and write like there's no tomorrow. XD Sometimes longer is better, and other times less is more. Mostly it's how late one is reading though. XD

If it's alright with you guys, this is the last time I'll do the disclaimer for the fic. I think we all get the idea by now.

For the remainder of this fic I do not, have not, and will not ever own any part of the anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements are my own. All others belong to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto!

Ranking System wrap up!

Naruto - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 100/100

Genmaru - C Plus Rank

Genmaru - B Rank at full strength

Master Xiaoyu - B Plus Rank

Will Sagitario give up a life of flirting for Anko? Will Naruto ever get to see the homes of Domino Genmaru and Elaine? Just how strong have the dragon kunoichi become? How strong are the other four temple guardians? Lastly, will Lee ever beat Shikamaru at chess? XD All of these questions and more will soon be answered. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!!


	14. The Tournament of Loss and Gain!

**Something to Protect!**

**The Tournament of Loss and Gain!**

It was nightfall by the time Naruto had returned to Konoha. As expected, the hidden village was bustling with activity likened to that of a festival. Every single home and shop was brightly lit and several parties were taking place. It wasn't all that surprising considering that the Chuunin exam would commence tomorrow.

Naruto had spent his final few days focusing on increasing his maximum chakra capacity and resting. At the moment, Naruto felt ready to go. With some help from a certain fox, the regenerative powers of the Kyuubi had accelerated Naruto's recovery from his fatigue within two days. Once more, Naruto's gratitude was at an all time high to both Jiraiya and the Kyuubi.

Naruto still had a few hours left before it would be an ideal time to shack up for the night, so he went to visit one of his favorite places in Konoha. Ayame and old man Teuchi were besides themselves with pleasure when Naruto entered the Ramen stand.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed Ayame with a happy smile.

Teuchi leaned on his counter.

"It's been awhile. Where have you been keeping yourself, kid?" asked the chef with a kindly smile.

Naruto took a seat and chuckled.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you!" replied Naruto cheerily.

"Is that so?" commented the chef before turning around to attend to his pot of steaming noodles.

Ayame set a cup of water before the blond and gave him a quick once over.

"You must've been training really hard, you look a lot stronger than before," observed the super cute ramen mistress.

"Yeah! I might even be able to win this tournament now!" declared Naruto while patting his muscle with a huge grin on his face.

Teuchi handed Ayame a ramen bowl at that moment. She smiled and set it before Naruto, much to his surprise. It was a bowl of Teuchi's deluxe special, consisting of boiled eggs, snow crab, corn, fish cakes, herbs and gravy filled dumplings! Naruto's stomach immediately begun to growl in anticipation.

"This is…?" begun Naruto with an expression of wonder.

Ayame giggled and the chef carelessly waved over his shoulder.

"Just eat up, it's on the house. You'll need energy for the main matches right?"

Naruto smiled gratefully. The meal was certainly welcome in any case, seeing how he had eaten nothing but home cooking for the last two months. It would be great to sample the taste of Ichiraku Ramen again.

"Thank you," said Naruto gratefully before seizing some chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!"

* * *

Out of habit, Naruto awoke early the next morning. The sun was just beginning to rise, bathing Naruto's apartment in its' pale light. The floor and furniture looked as if they had been recently cleaned of a thick layer of dust. A boring job that Naruto had done last night before going to bed.

It felt strange being back home after his two month long leave but at the same time, it felt good as well. Naruto's pad wasn't much but it was still the one place he could always call home. Stretching, Naruto got up and proceeded to fix breakfast from his fully restocked pantry. Being a festival time, Naruto found plenty of his favorite meals on sale for discount prices. A rare occurrence these days.

In little time at all, Naruto had been fed, watered and clothed to begin the ultimate test! In an effort to alter his looks for the occasion, Naruto secured his jacket around his waist instead of putting it on. Since he still had a few hours before the tourney actually started, Naruto decided to take a walk around town for a bit…

Even so early in the morning, the streets still managed to be packed full of shoppers and folks having fun. There was more than enough gossip about the upcoming matches flying around and Naruto learned that most of the citizens favored either Sasuke, Neji, Elaine or Domino to be the one to take home the gold. The reasons made sense for the most part. Sasuke and Neji being geniuses of their respective clans while Domino and Elaine hailing from the Dragon Clan was plenty reason enough for them to think that way.

Hearing about his friends made Naruto grin at the thought of being able to see everyone again. It was hard to be too nervous in situations like these after all, Naruto didn't mind if he ended up losing to them. It was the other guys that bothered him, particularly Gaara. Naruto had not yet forgotten the Sand's vow to kill him. It put a serious dent in Naruto's uplifting sprits.

His wondering feet eventually took the thoughtful blond to his makeshift training area. There Naruto warmed up and practiced a bit with his kunai until the time for the start of the tourney was only an hour away. With that, Naruto made way to the Battle Arena where the tourney would take place. A familiar voice greeted him from behind when he was more than halfway there.

"Naruto-kun?"

The blond paused and turned around to find Hinata standing shyly behind him.

"Hinata! You're all better again!" exclaimed Naruto happily.

The Hyuuga girl flushed and fiddled with her fingers. She was dressed in a sky blue top with dark brown pants.

"Yes," replied Hinata softly.

Naruto smiled, she was still just as shy as ever. Although part of the reason may have been because of how rare it was to see Naruto without his jacket on. His slightly more well muscled torso was visible after all.

"How have you been? Are you going to watch the main matches too?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. I've been doing quite well, Naruto-kun," responded Hinata with a bold smile on her part, since she normally couldn't bring herself to meet Naruto's gaze. "You look stronger, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah!" agreed Naruto with a merry laugh before having a sudden spark of inspiration. "Say, since we're heading the same way let's go to the stadium together!"

Hinata flushed even more deeply and looked like her heart would leap out of her chest, but managed an "Okay" all the same. The two then begun to walk and chat at the same time.

"Naruto-kun…I have a confession to make," revealed Hinata after a few minutes.

"What's up, Hinata?"

"During the preliminary matches…when you cheered me on that day, I felt like I had become stronger than before. Thanks to you, I was able to like myself a little more. I think I was able to change a little so for that I thank you, Naruto-kun," said Hinata with a bow.

Naruto thought back to that day and remembered the promise he had made to defeat Neji for what he had done to Hinata. Naruto gazed at Hinata and smiled with brotherly affection.

"You don't have to thank me, Hinata. You were able to become stronger because you believed in yourself just as I believe in you. That guy…Neji…he doesn't realize that yet. That's why I'm going to win that match and show him that if he tries hard, he can change too," vowed Naruto while grinning with his hands behind his head. "Honestly, you're even stronger than me, Hinata."

Hinata looked stunned for a moment as she considered Naruto's words. She then bowed a second time.

"Naruto-kun…arigato."

When Hinata looked up again, she found Naruto bowing to her.

"Thank you as well, Hinata," he straightened up. "You know, people like you are the kind I like the most. I'm glad we're friends."

"Yes!" agreed Hinata happily.

Naruto then pumped his fist into the air.

"Okay! Let's go!" cheered Naruto before taking Hinata's hand and running off to the stadium.

The friends were laughing the whole time…

* * *

Once Naruto and Hinata arrived at the main gates, Hinata headed towards the audience's entrance while Naruto faced the two Jounin guards standing in front of the competitor's entrance. They nodded and stepped aside as Naruto approached. The blond took a deep breath to calm himself and advanced through the gateway. Naruto soon found himself inside and standing directly in the battle area. The audience immediately erupted into a storm of cheering from well over five hundred people. Naruto smiled and waved before turning his attention to the small group of people standing before him.

Neji stood with his arms coolly folded across his chest. The same held true for Gaara, but his eyes were narrowed hatefully in Naruto's direction. Shino had his hands in his pockets as usual along with his permanent game face on. Kankuro was smirking in amusement with a hand on top of his concealed puppet. Dosu stared at Naruto with mild interest written over his mummified face. Shikamaru also had his arms folded but he was smirking at Naruto as if to say "Took you long enough." But the last two stood out the most.

Domino was waving with an excited smile in Naruto's direction. What more, she was wearing a brand new costume for the occasion! Domino now wore a pair of long black pants with matching combat boots. She had on a green tank top that showed off her midriff. A pair of leather fingerless, black biker gloves completed the look.

Standing next to her was Elaine who, for the most part, was almost unrecognizable at first. Her new outfit consisted of a pair of white kimono pants and a kimono top that was completely blue save for her long white sleeves. During the two month period, Elaine's hair had grown to shoulder length and looked positively elegant! A lone strand of hair dangled in front of her face and her natural cuteness had tripled compared to before! Her emerald pendant completed the look. She smiled and waved to Naruto as well.

Naruto could already feel heat rising to his cheeks and found it rather difficult to look away for a few moments. He quickly composed himself and waved back before doing a head count. From the looks of things, Sasuke was the only person who was absent from the entrance ceremony. The only other person present was a man wearing the common ninja uniform. This guy had shoulder length brown hair that was wrapped in a bandana. A skinny stick was sticking out of his mouth. This guy was the new judge, Shiranui Genma. Genma shot Naruto a bored glance.

"Hey kid, line up and look sharp," ordered the judge.

Naruto quickly moved between Shikamaru and Domino

"Hey, guys!" greeted Naruto cheerfully.

"Hey, looking good, Naruto!" complimented Domino cheerfully.

"Yeah, you look like you're in great shape!" added Elaine.

Naruto grinned.

"You guys too. Gosh, you've sure changed a lot in just two months!" observed Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed.

"This is such a drag, everyone here looks stronger than ever. If I match up with any of you three, do me a favor and make it as painless as possible," grumbled the lazy ninja.

Naruto sweat dropped.

"Give yourself some credit, Shikamaru! You must've gotten stronger too right?" he asked.

Shikamaru sighed again and glanced towards Gaara.

"I feel sorry for Sasuke. That Gaara guy doesn't exactly strike me as a push over," commented Shikamaru.

Elaine and Domino murmured in agreement.

"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"Not yet, but he's sure to show unless he's looking to get disqualified," replied Shikamaru.

* * *

"Naruto is here!" said Sakura excitedly in the stands.

"Yosh! I knew Naruto-kun would come soon! It would've been un-youthful for him to miss the opening ceremony!" said Lee from Sakura's left side.

"Yeah but he was still two minutes late," complained Ino from Sakura's right side. "Anyway, there's still no sign of Sasuke-kun. I hope he's okay."

"Maybe something happened to Sasuke-kun," surmised Sakura sadly.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun will definitely be here!" voiced Lee encouragingly.

"Otherwise Naruto won't let him live it down," added an amused voice behind them.

The trio turned towards it to find Genmaru sitting a few rows back with his arms folded in anticipation…

Not too far away, Hinata and Kiba sat together to watch the matches.

"Man, I'm looking forward to this!" said Kiba with a grin.

The dog tamer had swapped his jacket in for a black hoodie. Akamaru was riding in the hood.

"Yeah," agreed Hinata.

* * *

"Sasuke is still missing?" asked Sarutobi.

"I'm afraid so, Hokage-sama," replied Sagitario with a slight frown. "I've dispatched a few of my squad members to look for him, but they've had little luck so far. Kakashi-san must be rubbing off on him."

Sarutobi's personal bodyguard, a Jounin with spiky brown hair and a scar across his face spoke up.

"It's possible that he may have already been abducted by Orochimaru," suggested the ninja darkly.

"Perhaps, Raido. Still, we shouldn't give up just yet," murmured the Third tiredly.

At that moment another guy dressed exactly like Sarutobi, save for his concealed face and blue hat, appeared. This man was the current Kazekage of Wind Country. He too had a personal bodyguard dressed in the same Jounin apparel, with his being tan colored.

"Well if it isn't Sarutobi," greeted the Kazekage in a teasing tone.

He took a seat next to Sarutobi while his escort stood next to him. Sarutobi smiled amicably.

"It's been awhile, Kazekage. You must be tired after making such a long trip," begun the Third with the small talk.

"Oh no, not me. Frankly, I'm happy that the stage is in Konoha. I find it enjoyable visiting other villages," contradicted the Kazekage. "Tell me, have you considered appointing a Fifth yet? You're not as young as you once were after all."

Sarutobi laughed.

"Hey I'm not that old! I may keep doing this for another five years!" kidded Sarutobi.

The Third then stood up and moved to the stadium's railing.

"Well, let's get started now," suggested Sarutobi before facing the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to thank you for attending today's Chuunin selection exam. We will now begin the main matches with the ten that have passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy the matches."

The crowd begun to cheer excitedly…

* * *

"Okay listen up while I explain the rules," begun Genma.

"Um, excuse me but Sasuke hasn't arrived yet. Will this be a problem?" interrupted Naruto.

"It depends. If he doesn't arrive within five minutes after his match starts, he'll be disqualified," replied Genma.

Naruto gained a worried frown. It wasn't like Sasuke to miss something this important. More so than that, Naruto was half hoping that he would get a chance to fight with his rival. Seeing that nobody else had any questions at the moment, Genma continued.

"Now, the rules are the same as the preliminaries. Victory is only obtained through death or forfeit but I may stop you to prevent unnecessary deaths. Should I call the match, all arguments will be ignored. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. We shall start the first match immediately," announced Genma while producing a piece of folded paper from his vest. "First match, Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji. Everyone else, proceed to the waiting room until you are called on."

Wordlessly they all did just that leaving Naruto and Neji, they glared at each other out the corner of their eyes. They then faced each other. It wasn't visible, but the two fighter's auras were colliding as the air shimmered between them. Neji smirked.

"I take it you have something to say to me," predicted Neji knowingly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and thrust his fist forward.

"Just one thing. Like I said before, I'm going to take you down," vowed Naruto darkly.

With that said, Neji activated his Byakugan.

"_His eyes hold no fear, he truly believes that he can defeat me,_" Neji chuckled. "Perfect, once I shatter your false sense of hope I intend to relish in the look on your face."

"Shut up!" growled Naruto.

The blond invisible aura then overtook Neji's completely. Rocks begun levitating into the air and crumbling into dust before Neji's eyes. This time, Naruto was deadly serious. Neji didn't look worried though, he assumed the Juken stance.

"First match, begin!" cried Genma.

* * *

Neji slowly begun to approach Naruto while keeping his guard up on all sides. Neji knew that Naruto was pretty fast and had no intention of leaving any part of himself vulnerable for a second. Naruto stood straight up without putting up any kind of guard at all. Naruto, oddly enough, closed his eyes and waited. Neji didn't even see Naruto using his chakra anymore. Naruto had more or less left himself completely open on purpose!

The Hyuuga swallowed and decided to play it safe this time around. Quickly he withdrew and hurled a swarm of kunai at the neutral blond. Naruto didn't bother using his speed. Relying on his heightened senses, Naruto easily felt the projectiles movement through the air. Naruto calmly twisted and dodged each knife and caught the last one just inches in front of his face.

Now armed, Naruto's eyes snapped open and he hurled his new weapon right back at Neji. Naruto immediately followed up with a burst of high speed. Neji had no trouble following Naruto's movement with his eyes but the way Naruto had set up this attack made it impossible to avoid the kunai without taking a hit from Naruto and vice versa. Deciding that a knife blow would be more painful, Neji dodged the kunai first.

Naruto seized the opening he had gained and scored a double lateral kick to Neji's cheek. The Hyuuga stumbled back a few feet and reassumed the Juken stance. It would seem that Neji's recovery time was exceptionally high considering how hard he had been hit. Still, Neji shook his head a bit to clear it.

"_Damn it, had I not released some chakra from my tenketsu that might've finished me off!_" thought Neji angrily.

Once more Naruto was completely neutral, but this time he was glaring at Neji. Neji risked wiping the bruise on his cheek away. The old Naruto might've tried to prey on Neji's brief moment of vulnerability, but Naruto had gained a stronger sense of honor after his training and so he did nothing. Once Neji was completely ready again, Naruto assumed the open palmed river stance.

Naruto seemed to glide over the distance between himself and Neji as he boosted off towards him. He started things off with a shaoling inverse punch. Neji was just barely able to knock aside Naruto's fist with his right palm. Naruto immediately jumped straight up into the air and went into a speedy helicopter kick followed up with a forward heel drop.

Neji ducked the kick and rolled aside to avoid Naruto's stomp. The blond managed to touch down in a perfect handstand and fueled his arm with chakra for a boost off into Neji's direction. As Naruto did this, he started spinning so that his kick took after a drill. Neji only just managed to high jump out of the way. While in midair, Neji hurled two waves of shuriken at Naruto while he was still skidding to a halt. Naruto immediately begun performing nonstop back flips until he was clear of the projectiles.

On the last flip, Naruto vaulted himself into the air. Quickly Naruto formed some hand seals and took a deep breath.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

Naruto then rapidly fired off twenty fireballs at the stunned Neji. The Hyuuga gritted his teeth and quickly went into a spin.

"Kaiten!" cried the Hyuuga before becoming encaged in a protective dome of rotating blue chakra.

The moment the flaming balls came into contact with Neji's Heavenly Spin technique, they were canceled out causing no harm whatsoever. Naruto landed a few feet away with a intrigued expression while Neji ceased his spinning. The Hyuuga was standing in a three foot deep crater with a smirk on his face. The two fighters then reassumed their fighting stances. The audience went ballistic with loud cheering!

"Those guys are really something. That was clearly a Jounin level technique Naruto just pulled. I can't even tell who'll win now," commented Ino with an amazed expression on her face.

Sakura gave a sad smile.

"_Naruto…I envy you. You've gotten so much better than before. I'm nowhere near your level now_."

"Go, Naruto-kun! Use your youth power!" cheered Lee vigorously…

"Naruto-kun…" praised Hinata with a happy smile.

"Damn, we'll have to train three times harder to compete with a guy like that, Akamaru," groaned Kiba with a toothy grin.

Akamaru yipped a jealous response of agreement…

"Come on, Neji. You can still do this!" quietly cheered on Tenten as the supportive teammate.

Gai laughed and flashed a dazzling grin.

"Naruto-kun has gained a lot of rivals in his spring time of youth! Maybe now Neji will be motivated to participated in my twenty mile jogs with Lee!"

Tenten sweat dropped…

All of the other competitors were either cheering for Naruto, watching with growing respect for the two fighters or in Gaara's case fighting a strong urge to interrupt the match and try to kill a certain blond. The battle was proving to be quite a feat…

"_He's stronger than I thought. Looks like I'll have to use 'it' to win,_" observed Neji.

Naruto seemed to have read Neji's mind, since he straightened up at that moment.

"So, do you still think that people can't change?" asked Naruto coolly.

Neji disregarded his question.

"I have no ill will against you, so for your sake you should give up now," suggested Neji.

"Don't try to avoid the question, besides I _do_ have a grudge against you! Did you forget what you did to Hinata!?" snapped Naruto.

"That has nothing to do with you!" rebuked Neji coldly.

"When you call my precious friends failures, it has everything to do with me!"

"Don't make me repeat myself. People cannot change no matter what. You'll always be a failure and I'll always be forced to serve the Head Family," said Neji darkly.

Naruto chuckled.

"Man, you seriously are a baka. For the last time, don't underestimate me!" Naruto formed a seal. "Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In several clouds of smoke, four clones appeared on either side of Naruto. A fifth one appeared kneeling before Naruto with a smirk on his face. The audience once more erupted into loud cheers. None of them imagined that Naruto would know so many high level techniques at his age. They were all rather impressed!

"Maybe a thorough beating will bring you to your senses!" said all of the Narutos as one.

"Heh, go ahead and try!" shot back Neji confidently.

In flashes of speed, Neji found himself surrounded on all sides by four clones. They quickly flashed through some hand seals and took deep breaths. The real Naruto and the last clone appeared in midair directly above Neji. The clone next to him formed a seal.

"Henge!"

Naruto stuck his hand into the smoke cloud and pulled out his transformed clone in the form of a Fuuma Shuriken covered in exploding notes!

"Now!" cried Naruto.

With that, Neji was consumed in a barrage of one hundred and sixty fireballs! Naruto himself went into a spin to gather momentum and hurled his deadly weapon into the rising wall of flames. Naruto then used the aerial skip to escape as the explosions erupted in all of its' devastating glory. A huge cloud of smoke shot into the air as if the area had been hit by a miniature nuke. Naruto reappeared besides his four surviving clones with his back turned to the site of carnage.

"Kusho!" came Neji's voice from somewhere within the flames.

Four strong blasts of chakra suddenly shot fourth, striking each of his clones. All four of them were sent flying and went up in smoke upon impact with the earth. Naruto spun around with a look of complete surprise on his face.

After a few minutes, the flames died down enough to show Neji standing with his palms thrust forward. His hands were covered in an aura of chakra and for the most part he was completely unharmed. Only a few burned hairs and a soot covered face hinted at any possible damage. The audience once more begun cheering excitedly…

"Wuaa, I thought Naruto had him that time!" groaned Sakura.

"That was quite a combo Naruto pulled, but it didn't seem to have any effect at all!" exclaimed Ino.

"That Neji…" growled Lee while trembling. "Get him, Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto-kun…please don't lose," prayed Hinata worriedly while coughing a little bit.

Kiba shot her a worried glance. Hinata suddenly begun violently coughing up blood.

"Hinata! You're bleeding!" cried Kiba in alarm. "Hey, get a medic out here!"

Immediately a person wearing long black robes and the mask of an ANBU rushed over.

"Let me take a look at her. I'm a doctor," requested the ANBU.

"Please!" agreed Kiba…

"This is the end. You lost the moment you got in range of my divination field," declared Neji coldly.

Naruto tensed, that certainly didn't sound good. Neji assumed a low stance with his arms spread far apart and smirked.

"Hakke, Rokujuu Yonsho."

Neji closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye giving Naruto little time to react. Neji's index and middle fingers were rammed into Naruto's body.

"Two-strikes!"

Naruto grunted and felt his body freeze up. Neji struck twice more in different points.

"Four-strikes!"

Neji's hands then begun getting faster as he hit four more times.

"Eight-strikes!"

Neji hit eight more times.

"Sixteen-strikes!"

Then came sixteen more hits.

"Thirty-two strikes!"

Neji's hands were impossible to follow after that.

"Sixty-four strikes!"

Naruto screamed in agony as he was sent flying to land with a winded thud on his back. His skin was tingling like mad in sixty-four different places. Worse of all however, Naruto's chakra reserves had plummeted to barely anything. Neji calmly exhaled after forcing his body to speed up so much. Naruto weakly struggled to his hands and knees.

"The hell…" moaned a battered Naruto.

"You should be grateful, a failure like you isn't worthy of the one-hundred and twenty-eight palms technique. You're still conscious right now only because I held back," drawled Neji.

Naruto begun to laugh, much to the irritation of Neji. Naruto then slowly rose to his full height and sighed.

"That's funny, I was holding back too. Maybe I'll show you my max," hinted Naruto.

Neji stiffened fearfully.

"You…you're bluffing!" stammered Neji. "Your fate is surely defeat by my hands."

"Am I? Why don't you use your eyes and find out Mr. Know-it-all!" quipped Naruto.

Neji growled and charged to attempt a palm thrust. Naruto quickly pressed his finger to the earth and used a chakra discharge to launch himself out of the way.

"_Ready, fox? I'll need you to reopen my chakra pathways_."

"_**Alright, brat.**_"

Naruto grinned and clenched his fists by his side. Naruto then begun to scream as the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox flooded his body. Nothing seemed to be happening at first, but Naruto was in major pain as that enormous amount of energy pushed against the sealed tenketsu. Sixty-four loud popping sounds rang out one by one as the energy finally freed itself.

For just five seconds, Naruto's chakra aura was completely blood red. Then it turned violet again as his replenishing energy levels started mixing with it. Neji and Genma were blown off of their feet by the incredible shockwave that followed suit. More than one third of the stadium was covered by Naruto's power! So strong was the chakra that Naruto was being temporarily suspended in midair by his chakra alone!

Neji was trembling from his perch on the ground.

"_This is impossible, sixty-four of his tenketsu were closed! What is he!?_" thought Neji fearfully before reactivating his Byakugan.

Neji's eyes then saw the most unlikely sight imaginable. For just a few moments, what looked like the head of a grinning fox was visible at the origin of Naruto's chakra. Neji screamed in fear while every adult in the audience gasped in horror. The younger onlookers wore expressions of total awe save for Genmaru, who smiled knowingly.

"Let's do this!" cried Naruto.

The blond screamed causing the intensity of his aura to send a strong pressure force that made Neji kneel. Naruto then vanished at a speed that not even the Hyuuga could follow. A spray of spit erupted forth from Neji's mouth as Naruto slugged him four times in his stomach in rapid session. Naruto further pressed his assault in the form of a spinning back hand, a left hook, two more spinning backhands, a chin busting punch and lastly an axe kick all in a single fluid move! With an enraged scream, Neji took a wild swipe at Naruto's face. The blond vanished and reappeared a few feet away with a pair of kunai in hand that he proceeded to throw at Neji.

"Kaiten!"

The knives were deflected and Neji quickly seized them. Lazily Naruto advanced, knowing that he would win for sure in his current state. Neji's aching stomach refused to allow Neji any mobility so he had no choice but to stand his ground. Naruto begun vanishing and reappearing rapidly around Neji. Naruto was moving so fast that dozens of afterimages made it impossible to tell exactly where he was. From time to time, Neji would suffer a hard blow to his cheek.

The blond suddenly appeared next to Neji and delivered a powerful heel kick into his side. Neji started to go flying, but Naruto took hold of his leg and started spinning. Neji then found himself sailing straight up into the air with his eyes closed in pain.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" came Naruto's voice directly behind him.

Three more Narutos appeared around Neji. One of them slugged him in the cheek making him drop.

"U!"

A second one used the aerial skip to catch up and add his hit.

"Zu!"

The third repeated the procedure.

"Ma!"

Finally the real Naruto struck.

"Ki!"

All four Naruto's then appeared on ground level directly below Neji. They all kicked upwards into Neji's stomach as one.

"Geppuchi Rendan!"

Neji spat up a bit of blood and his eyes returned back to normal. The Naruto's all lowered their legs causing the battered Hyuuga to land in a heap on the ground. Neji started trembling in pain.

"Damn it…to lose to a guy like you…disgraceful…" gasped Neji.

"Now do you understand? Neji, you can't blame fate for everything," lectured Naruto.

Neji glared at the floor.

"Anyone can change and fulfill their goals. You more so than anyone, after all you're not a failure right?" he continued.

Neji didn't say anything, but his gaze did soften a little bit.

"I believe that you can do great things, Neji. But you'll only be able to do that if you believe in yourself. You have supportive friends out there, I'm one of them. And let that be your lesson," concluded Naruto.

Genma grinned and raised his hand into the air.

"Victor, Uzumaki Naruto!" he stated.

Every person in the audience begun to cheer! Naruto grinned and tossed his hands into the air to soak into the applauding, cheering and whistling…

* * *

Naruto was graced with a well deserved round of congratulations when he went to the competitor's box. The blond was grinning from ear to ear with his hands behind his head.

"Here's our star now. That was some pretty smooth fighting, dude," complimented Shikamaru.

"Yeah, you were super!" added Domino.

"Ain't it the truth!" said Naruto with a laugh.

The other's laughed with him. Being able to fight a real battle, that wasn't just some training drill had felt great. Naruto had enjoyed every minute of it and it showed in his amazing performance. Naruto's only regret was that he hadn't gotten a chance to show off his best move yet…

* * *

The audience begun to grow restless when six minutes had passed. The Kazekage chuckled.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say a riot was going to break out."

"There's little we can do about that, one of the fighters is missing," said Sarutobi.

"Yes, the Uchiha I believe it was. Has he been located yet?" asked Kazekage.

"Alas, no," admitted Sarutobi with a sigh. "Raido, please inform Genma to disqualify Sasuke."

"Yes sir," replied his bodyguard.

"Hang on, let's not get so hasty," interjected the Kazekage. "Including myself, just about every person here is looking forward to the next match. Kaze no Kuni is especially eager for a bout between Sasuke and our Gaara. Surely we can give Sasuke a bit more time to arrive."

Everyone looked at the Third as he considered this. Finally he nodded.

"Alright, we shall delay the next match for awhile," agreed the Third. "Please inform the judge, Raido."

"Sir!" complied Raido before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

* * *

"What in the world could Sasuke be doing?" grumbled Shikamaru as the crowd begun throwing food at Genma and Raido.

"Being a showoff no doubt! He probably thinks it'll be more dramatic if he makes us wait!" complained Domino.

Elaine giggled.

"Sakura always did complain about Kakashi-sensei's chronic tardiness. He must've talked Sasuke into it," she added.

"Maybe," grumbled Shikamaru with a thoughtful frown.

"A wise man quits when the danger is too great. Sasuke may have felt the need to do so," droned Shino.

"Are you kidding?! Trust me, Sasuke's definitely going to be here!" vouched Naruto before shifting his gaze to Gaara. "_Still…if that guy is serious about trying to kill me then Sasuke may be in for a rough time_."

Gaara glared back with major dislike written over his face. Gaara was clenching and unclenching his fist as he did this. Shikamaru and the others sensed the tension between those two and grew worried. It passed when Raido went up in smoke and Genma faced the audience.

"Listen up, guys. One of the competitors has not yet arrived. So we will skip over the second match and proceed to the next one."

The crowd ceased throwing random objects since they were finally going to get some action. Naruto, Elaine and Domino sighed in relief. Genma then continued his announcement.

"Next match, Aburame Shino versus Kankuro. Fighters come to the battle area."

Kankuro looked like he was sweating bullets. His eyes grew wide with panic.

"I'm sorry, I choose to forfeit the match!" declared Kankuro.

Everyone gave a start at this unexpected revelation. Genma frowned and sighed at what he knew was coming.

"Since Kankuro has withdrawn from the match, Aburame Shino wins by default."

The crowd once again became enraged and started tossing items into the ring. Genma grew flustered and started screaming at everyone to calm down. It worked, though there were still a lot of complainers.

"Thank you. We shall now start the next match. Kinuta Dosu and Shishikura Domino, please advance to the battle area."

Domino turned towards Dosu and winked in his direction.

"See you there!" she said before hopping backwards onto the handrails.

Domino then performed a dazzling array of aerobics and landed with a boom in a crouched position. The earth beneath her cracked slightly. Domino smiled while rising to her full height, completely unharmed. The lavender eyed girl calmly placed a hand on her hip as she waited for Dosu, who decided to take the stairs.

Once both fighters were ready and facing each other, the crowd begun to cheer.

"Go, Domino!" cheered Naruto and Elaine along with everyone else in the audience.

Dosu raised his sleeve to reveal his sound amplifier.

"I'll try to make this quick so that I can fight Sasuke-kun," announced Dosu quietly.

Domino tsked while waving one finger side to side.

"Sorry pal, I don't plan on losing this one," countered Domino with one of her most gorgeous and confident smiles.

Genma raised his arm.

"Fight!"

* * *

"Here we go!" cried Domino as she reared back her fist.

Dosu tensed in preparation for evasive maneuvers.

"Doryuuga Shihohappo!" cried Domino before striking the earth.

Every single person that was standing found themselves stumbling to their hands and knees due to the sudden magnitude. The shaking was most intense directly beneath Dosu. A HUGE stone spire shot upwards from the area that the Sound was currently kneeling. Unable to move due to the earth's movement, Dosu screamed as he was violently knocked upwards by the Earth Dragon Fangs From all Directions!

Domino smirked and spread her arms straight out. Her palms begun glowing with gold chakra. She immediately clapped her hands together with a loud boom.

"Scatter!"

The spire broke up into thousands of razor sharp stone shards. Domino then pumped both of her sandwich clapped hands into the air causing every single shard to rocket towards Dosu. The Sound could only scream in pure agony as he was cut into by the stones nearly an astonishing one million times! This took only fifteen long and painful seconds and everyone had been stunned into an amazed silence. Domino ended the assault and the stones just revolved about in the air while the bloody mess that was once Dosu plummeted into the gapping hole in the ground.

Domino then formed fists and smashed them into each other causing every single shard to rain into the hole for the finishing blow. The earth shook violently and a cloud of dust rose into the air as the shards impacted. A minute later, it cleared to reveal nothing but rubble and dust in the spot that had been pelted. Domino slowly exhaled and straightened up before elegantly brushing her hair aside.

The crowd went crazy!!

"God freaking damn! What the heck was that!?" cried Naruto with bulging eyes.

Everyone else in the competitor's box was equally unnerved. That technique was deadly! Suddenly, the odds of a certain lavender eyed girl winning this competition seemed a heck of a lot more believable…

"No way…in just one attack…" gasped Ino in awe.

"Amazing…" added Sakura.

Even Lee was too stunned to make a comment about Domino's youth power. The same held true for Gai. Genmaru whistled.

"_Mental note, do not piss her off,_" thought the misty eyed ninja.

"Ho ho, very nice," commented Sarutobi approvingly.

Sagitario smiled proudly while the Kazekage looked on with a heck of a lot more interest than before…

Genma surveyed the ruins and turned to face the audience with his face as neutral as he could make it.

"This match is over. Winner, Shishi…"

"I think not," cut in Dosu's voice.

Everyone looked around for the source, but Dosu was nowhere in sight. A loud ringing noise sounded and said Sound materialized out of thin air.

"How lucky it was of me to use my Kyomeisen to conjure up a Genjutsu. Such a move would've killed me off for sure," said the mummy faced Sound nervously while holding up the aforementioned attachment on his arm.

Domino smiled cheerfully.

"Alright, now we can play a little longer!" she said before assuming a battle stance. "Don't expect me to pull any punches, okay?"

Once more the crowd begun to cheer. Domino had made a fan out of just about everyone in the audience! Dosu flexed the muscles in his hand for a moment and charged. Domino knew full well that close range combat wasn't the way to go after seeing what he had done to Kabuto and Chouji. With that in mind, Domino stomped the ground hard enough for a chuck of solid rock to rise up next to her. Domino quickly spun and soccer kicked it towards Dosu.

The Sound grunted and rolled aside to avoid the incoming attack. He was about to turn around when a pair of kunai suddenly pinned his long left sleeve to the earth. Unable to move right away, he took three super powered punches to the face from Domino. The third punch ripped Dosu's sleeve as he was sent flying into a nearby tree. The tree snapped at the base and toppled over, kicking up a veil of dust that hid the damage she had caused from view.

Once more there came a loud storm of cheering. Domino turned towards the crowd and winked while flashing the victory sign with a laugh. Domino had grown unbelievable powerful in just two months, only a man of iron would've been able to survive blows like that. To think that she wasn't even wearing her armor yet further made her odds of conquering every opponent seem more likely. The crowd hushed suddenly and Domino quickly glanced over her shoulder with narrowed eyes.

Dosu was breathing heavily and covered from head to toe in dust and bruises. Still, the Sound was standing and fully intent on continuing this bout. Domino turned around and frowned with one eye open and a hand on her hip.

"Hey do you still want to play? I can't guarantee your life if we keep going like this," said Domino concernedly.

Dosu shook his head to clear it and glared.

"I'm fine, just give me a moment," replied Dosu before taking off his ruined jacket.

Dosu now stood wearing nothing but a plain white undershirt with no sleeves. His torso was lean and well muscled. He then tossed his jacket aside and clenched his fists by his sides. Domino sighed, smiled half heartedly and assumed a battle position. She didn't exactly want to seriously hurt the guy.

Dosu held his metal arm up and flicked it resulting in a faint humming sound. One Dosu then became two, followed by four, and then twenty. Domino rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the numbers remained the same. Dosu had used another Genjutsu by the looks of it.

"_Alright then, let's have a go,_" she mused.

All of the Dosus moved to surround her on all sides. They all then held up their arms and flicked it as one. Domino's vision begun to blur for some reason and her legs felt like jelly. The lavender eyed girl clamped her hands over her ears and sank to her knees. The way it was vibrating made it impossible to tell exactly were the disorienting noise was coming from.

"Damn it!" she hissed as Dosu's technique took effect…

"Domino!" cried Naruto, Elaine, and Shikamaru in unison.

Genmaru, Sakura, Ino, Lee, Tenten, Gai, Sagitario and a majority of the audience did likewise. Things had taken a dramatic turn for the earth manipulator…

"Farewell, little girl," said the Dosus as they slowly closed the distance.

"As if!" snapped Domino while rearing back her fists.

Her hands glowed with chakra before becoming covered in earth. Her armored hands then grew powerful claws from the knuckles. With a cry, Domino smashed the earth hard enough to kick up a cloud of dust. The boom drowned out the sound of Dosu's arm, returning him back to one again. He shielded his eyes from the dust cloud and waited for it to clear. When it did, Domino was nowhere to be found. Only a hole was in the spot she had been kneeling before.

The ground begun shaking once more. Dosu's eyes grew wide with total fright.

"Final!" came Domino's cry from directly below.

Dosu glanced at his feet where cracks were beginning to appear.

"Roga no Mai!"

Bright light begun to shine from the cracks in the ground. It then exploded outward followed by a fully armored Domino! Dosu suffered from the hardest blow thus far in the form of a bone rattling uppercut. The overall force sent both him and Domino sailing straight into the air. Domino didn't remove her fist from Dosu's chin until they both were a good fifty feet into the air.

Her stone wings then sprouted from her back in all their glory. Domino's glowing yellow eyes were fearsome to behold. She flapped her wings once and vanished in a flash of impossible to follow speed. Dosu didn't even have time to blink before Domino scored a two handed smash directly on his head. The Sound dropped like a stone from the empire state building. Domino clenched her glowing right fist in front of her face causing a pillar of solid stone to shoot up from the ground into Dosu's back.

Dosu's mouth opened in a silent scream of pain and his eyes rolled into the back of his head showing only white. Domino reared back her fist and dove towards the half conscious Sound like a Suka Bomber. Upon impacted, the pillar crumbled and collapsed in a cloud of dust. Every single person was on the edge of their seat with wide eyes.

The dust cleared revealing Domino without her armor on. In her right hand was Dosu being held up by his shirt. His arms dangled limply by his side and his mouth hung open with a bit of drool soaking his face wrappings. The Sound was completely out cold!

Genma didn't waste his time checking. He immediately raised his hand into the air.

"Winner, Shishikura Domino!"

The crowd cheered like there was no tomorrow!

* * *

Once the medical squad had taken Dosu for treatment, Domino rejoined the others in the competitor's box.

"Awesome, Domino!" gushed Elaine.

"Yeah! You were so cool! You hit him with a wham and then that crazy move of yours and…"

Naruto instantly went into an excited rant with detailed highlights of the match. Domino giggled modestly while soaking in Naruto's praise. Shikamaru was only half listening while warily observing Domino.

"_It was hard to imagine that someone could have so much strength, especially a girl,_" thought the lazy ninja while shifting his gaze to Elaine. "_Great and I have to fight her friend next. If she's as strong as her, I'm toast_."

Shino spoke up at that moment.

"My assessment of Domino's match agrees with Naruto's exaggerated recap. However, the next match is starting soon and there is still no sign of Sasuke," droned the bug tamer.

It was true, Sasuke still had yet to arrive. The Uchiha was really pushing it…

Genma raised his hands to draw everyone's attention.

"We are now going to continue with the next match up. Nara Shikamaru and Harime Elaine, proceed to the battle area."

Shikamaru stiffened nervously before groaning. Elaine giggled at the sight.

"Don't worry, I won't bite…too hard," she said mischievously.

"Good luck, guys!" spurred on Naruto and Domino with grins.

Elaine and Shikamaru then took the stairs together. Once they were on the field, the crowd begun cheering like mad. They had gotten quite pumped up after seeing Domino's performance and were eager to find out what Elaine could do since she hailed from the same clan.

"Go for it, guys!" cheered Sakura and Genmaru.

"Use your youth power!" came Lee and Gai.

Ino however, had went over the top with cheers. Particularly for Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! Beat her up with your amazing sixteen hit combo!" cried Ino loudly while shadow boxing with the air for emphasis.

"Still as loud as ever," came a muffled voice.

Everyone turned towards it to find Chouji snacking on some chips.

"You're late! Let me guess, you stopped by the market on the way here," accurately predicted Ino with a frown.

Chouji grinned and held up another bag of chips from his travel bag.

"Want some?" he asked…

By this point, the fighters were ready to get started. Elaine bowed respectfully.

"Please, let's both do our best."

Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah," he agreed. "_Man, why do I have to fight another girl? As a man I can't lose and yet I don't want to get beaten up either. This is such a drag_."

Genma raised his hand into the air.

"Begin!"

* * *

Shikamaru calmly craned his neck to get the tension out and rotated his arms. Elaine took that time to stretch her legs and swing her arms a bit. Once they were completely ready, Elaine assumed a stance while Shikamaru put one hand in his pocket.

Elaine dashed forward and went into a overhead forward flip. Her heel dropped towards Shikamaru's head. The lazy ninja quickly hopped backwards with a kunai wave from Elaine directly on his heels. Shikamaru spun and used his foot to catch one of the knives, via chakra. He then hopped back once more and kicked the snared knife towards Elaine. Elaine effortlessly caught it on her finger by the ring without so much as a glance at it. She twirled the knife and pocketed it.

Elaine withdrew a ward that she had hidden in her left sleeve and held it up in front of her. The slip of paper had the Japanese characters for Sea written on it. Elaine closed her eyes and begun chanting in an unknown language. Shikamaru tensed as the slip begun glowing. Elaine let go of it and oddly enough, the paper hovered in midair.

The paper disintegrated and five watery spheres begun circling around Elaine like a solar system. Elaine's eyes opened and were glowing a eerie blue. With the slightest tilt of her head, the spheres begun shooting blasts of water at Shikamaru like a swarm of trigger happy machine gunners!

Shikamaru gasped and comically begun dodging and avoiding what he could. Still, each blow that hit slowed his body down considerably as if his joints were being frozen. At some point, Shikamaru took several dozen hits to the stomach in one go. He was sent flying back to smash painfully into the far wall. More shot's quickly followed, but Shikamaru hurriedly used the replacement technique to make his escape.

Elaine ceased her barrage to seek out the hiding Nara. The only real hiding place in sight was a group of dense trees where the shadows were thickest. Shikamaru was calmly hiding in one of the branches with numerous bruises on his face.

"_Sheesh, she's not messing around out there,_" thought Shikamaru while gazing up at the clouds longingly. "_Why do these things always happen to me? Life would be so much easier if I were a cloud, but I guess it doesn't work out that way,_" he smirked.

Quickly Shikamaru hopped down and formed a seal.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Elaine had been expecting this and calmly withdrew a pair of pellets from her pouch. She tossed them into the air and formed the prayer seal.

"Kai!"

The pellets exploded and released two strong orbs of light. The brightness of them easily erased Shikamaru's approaching shadow from existence. Shikamaru shielded his eyes and grunted in frustration. Elaine smiled and pointed to the orbs.

"Those are Tokumigakure specialty flash pellets. Once activated they'll continue to burn brightly like that for at least ten minutes. I was saving them just for you, Shikamaru," teased Elaine.

Shikamaru mentally cursed. Why did these things always happen to him…

The crowd begun cheering at Elaine's clever tactic. Needless to say, she had been paying attention during the preliminaries. Everyone was rather eager to find out what they would do next, especially Asuma.

"_Kid has an IQ of over two hundred and is already being forced to think outside of the box,_" thought Asuma with a smile.

"Go, Shikamaru!" squealed Ino with heated energy.

Everyone around her sweat dropped…

"Well now, let's get started," said Elaine while thrusting her palm forward.

One of the five sphere's moved into place before her outstretched hand.

"Bakusuiryuu! Hitotsu Shotto!" cried Elaine.

The water sphere took on the shape of a long bow! Elaine aimed it skywards and moved her hand as if she were drawing the string. Out of thin air it seemed, an arrow made of water appeared in her hand. Like a skilled marksman, Elaine lowered the bow and took careful aim at Shikamaru. A glint appeared in her eyes and she fired.

Shikamaru leaped aside causing the shot to miss, but the technique wasn't known as the Exploding Water Dragon for nothing. The minute it came into contact with anything other than her intended target, the arrow exploded into a torrent of rushing water than swept Shikamaru off of his feet and into the open. Once the water calmed enough for Shikamaru to get up, he looked at good deal like a drowned rat. His gravity defying hair hung limply and his clothes were soaked. Shikamaru coughed up some of the water he had swallowed.

"Damn it!" hissed Shikamaru.

The four remaining spheres around Elaine immediately begun firing off those body numbing shots again. Quickly Shikamaru leaped aside and donned a camouflaged veil, hiding himself from view. Elaine once more ceased her assault. The bow in her hand then evaporated into steam, being a one shot at a time technique an all. So far, the two fighters had been playing cat and mouse for the last three minutes. Elaine was certain that Shikamaru intended to remain hidden until he could use his techniques again.

"_Fat chance of that,_" she thought with a giggle.

The blue haired girl fondly took hold of her pendant and kissed it. After that, she closed her eyes and formed a one handed prayer seal causing the green jewel to glow. Elaine then formed a pyramid with her hands.

"Hyoton Hijutsu, Hyoryujin," murmured Elaine while cupping her hands in front of her.

Two of the remaining water spheres fused together and moved to her waiting hands. Just like the Sea King Wave, the newly created water begun to grow in her palms. Once the gathering water had grew about the size of a volleyball, Elaine opened her eyes and held the ball in front of her face. Lightly, she blew on the sphere causing a dragon head to shoot forward. The difference was that this particular dragon was made out of pure ice!

The beast made no move to attack anything, but instead traveled about the area speedily leaving subzero temperatures in its' wake. Everyone begun to shiver except for Elaine, who didn't seem to be affected at all, and oddly enough Naruto.

The blond looked around to find everyone's lips turning blue as they tried to rub feeling back into their arms. He then took note of a warm feeling near his chest. Curiously, Naruto reached into his T-shirt and pulled out the pendant that Elaine had given him long ago. It glowed with a pale blue light…

"It's so c-cold!" whispered a shivering Sakura as her breath became visible in the air.

"W-what's g-going on?!" wailed Ino before sneezing.

Lee's teeth were chattering and his nose started to run.

Even the seemingly invincible Genmaru looked frozen as he brushed bits of snow from his hair and shoulders. He slowly stuck his palm out and conjured up a small flame. Everyone nearby huddled around it to soak in the warm it offered. This was the technique Elaine had been developing, the Ice Dragon Storm!

Shikamaru's location had been instantly revealed due to the thin layer of snow covering his veil. It didn't help that he was shivering like mad either. Elaine calmly advanced on Shikamaru while her remaining water spheres hovered close at hand. Quickly, Shikamaru scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at Elaine. With a splat, it hit her right in the face!

"Hey, what the…!?" she cried before taking another snowball.

Elaine was forced to dodge like her life depended on it as Shikamaru threw scoop after scoop of snow. It was fun for awhile, but Elaine soon grew annoyed by Shikamaru's childish yet effective means of defending himself. She had one of her remaining spheres fire off rounds to knock the snow aside and clobber Shikamaru while she formed seals. Once she was ready, Elaine held her palm out once more. Her stationary sphere moved to her hand and started expanding.

Elaine's pendant went active a second time. A majority of the snow rose up and merged with the growing sphere turning it into a pulsing ball of crystal. Unlike the Zabuza battle, this took no strain on Elaine's body since her pendant was supplying all of the energy this time. Gently, Elaine set the sphere down and took a few steps back. By this time, the flash pellets had finally worn off.

"_At last!_" thought Shikamaru along with most of the audience.

Shikamaru then hobbled as fast as his frozen legs would carry him to escape Elaine's attacking sphere. Elaine made no effort to continue the assault since her attention was mostly on the crystal orb she had created. Still, her other sphere circled around her protectively just in case Shikamaru tried anything. Shikamaru stayed a good distance away and analyzed what he was seeing while rubbing his arms. With a sigh he assumed a thinking pose with his fingers lightly pressed together. Elaine still didn't pay him any attention.

"_Let's see. I'm not sure what she's up too, but her techniques seem to use a combination of water and ice as their base. Most of the battle field is buried in snow limiting my mobility a bit. So far Elaine has mostly used long range attacks so that isn't a problem for her. In the time that passed waiting for those pellets to burn out the shadow of the wall has gotten a lot bigger. I can use that to increase my range. It's just as well since I won't be able to approach her without getting attacked by that water ball_."

These were just some of Shikamaru's thoughts as he came up with strategies. After a full two minutes had passed, Shikamaru stood up and smirked. The lazy man had a plan!

Elaine seemed to sense Shikamaru's readiness for battle and shot him a curious glance. Shikamaru formed the ram seal.

"Kage Nui!" he cried.

With that, dozens of shadows in the shape of hands extended from Shikamaru's body! Several of them scooped up handfuls of snow and begun throwing them at Elaine with the speed of a machine gunner. Elaine squealed in total surprise and covered her head with her arms as she was bombarded. She suddenly felt her body go rigid!

"Heh, Shadow Imitation is a success!" announced Shikamaru with a smirk.

The distraction had allowed Shikamaru to capture Elaine with one of his shadow hands! With that, Shikamaru forced Elaine to lower her arms. The blue haired girl gritted her teeth as she struggled against her captor's technique but it did little good. Realizing that she was caught, Elaine ceased struggling and looked at Shikamaru as if to say "What's next?"

"Man, what a drag. It took awhile, but we can finally start wrapping things up," grumbled Shikamaru while thumping his shoulder to relieve the tension.

He then formed the ram seal again.

"Kage Kubi Shibari."

Two of his shadow hands moved forward and took hold of Elaine's throat. Elaine's eyes widened in surprise as the hands begun to cut off her air. A muffled cry of pain escaped her lips…

"Elaine!" cried Naruto, Domino, Genmaru, most of the audience and Sagitario.

The cold was forgotten in the wake of Elaine's plight. Shikamaru didn't really want to hurt Elaine so he only intended to make her pass out. Still, Elaine had quite a bit of will power. Desperately her eyes swiveled to the crystal orb and she called out with her mind.

"_Awaken_…"

Elaine's pendant reacted once more. The jewel fired a strong beam of light at the crystal resulting in a really loud cracking sound. Everyone looked towards it to find the orb quickly growing bigger until it was twenty feet tall. Cracks slowly appeared in the surface of it before it exploded into fragments of ice and mist. Two large wings expanded on either side of the cloud before a earsplitting roar rang out. The wings flapped once and blew the mist away to reveal a real lived dragon! Elaine had created the egg of an Ice Dragon!!

The beast was pure silver in color and rather big. Standing on its' hind legs, it towered over them at a respectable thirty-eight feet. Its' wings were each fifteen feet wide and had a beautiful glitter. Its' bright blue eyes were keen and very intelligent looking. Two horns grew from its' head and its' tail conjured up icy winds every time it swung. Its' crystalline body gleamed in the sunlight and steam exited its' snout every time it breathed.

Shikamaru and every other person's mouth dropped open in shock. Elaine gazed fondly at her newly hatched familiar. It returned the gaze and swiveled its' head to glower at Shikamaru.

"Oh crap!" cried Shikamaru before releasing his technique and making a break for it.

The dragon powerfully flapped its' wings and gave chase from the air. It caught up pretty easily and Shikamaru comically dropped to the ground like 'Mario.' The dragon passed over his head and rose higher into the air to turn around. Shikamaru once more rose and took off running. The dragon opened its' mouth and fired a rain of ice shards at him. With a panicked cry, Shikamaru dove head first into the hole Domino had made during her match with Dosu.

It was impossible to see, but Shikamaru's knees were knocking as he hid in the hole. The dragon was annoyed by its' prey's escape, but flew back to its' tamer's side to check on her. Overall Elaine was fine, she was just rubbing her aching throat a bit. The beast nuzzled her cheek with its' snout as Elaine laughed and stroked its' nose.

It seemed to almost purr before laying down on its' stomach. Quickly Elaine mounted its' back, tucked her legs beneath its' wings and hugged its' neck. Once seated, the dragon took to the air with its' new passenger. When they were both a good height in the air, the dragon roared and begun sucking the cold air into its' mouth. The area slowly grew thirty degrees warmer by the time the dragon had took in enough breath. Elaine called her last sphere as well…

"Here it comes!" cried Sakura and Lee.

Chouji was munching on his frozen potato chips at rapid speed…

"Bakusuiryuu! Dai Futtsu Shotto!"

Once more a bow was formed. Elaine made the motion of pulling a string again and the watery arrow was formed. However, this particular arrow was quite different from before. Chakra surrounded it like rings on a person's finger. The arrow suddenly quadrupled in size!

"Why do I get the feeling that this is really going to hurt?" grumbled Shikamaru.

Elaine fired the shot just as her familiar launched it barrage of Ice beams. The two energies merged forming one giant blast! A huge cloud of hot steam picked up upon impact barring everything from view. When it cleared, the battle area was flood in three feet of water since all the snow had melted. A pair of geysers shot out of the holes in the ground and with it came Shikamaru with swirls in his eyes.

When the geysers finally stopped, Shikamaru hovered in midair for a moment. Frantically he tried to do the doggy paddle before gravity seized him. The lazy ninja had just started to fall when he felt someone take hold of his pant leg. Dangling upside down, he looked up at his savior only to find his pants firmly in the jaws of the dragon. Shikamaru sighed and raised his hand into the air.

"I'll quit," he grumbled.

Everyone sweat dropped at this revelation. Genma, who for the majority of the fight had hung on the stadium wall, raised his arm.

"Winner, Harime Elaine!"

* * *

"I'm tired," grumbled Shikamaru the moment he had been set down.

The dragon hadn't forgiven Shikamaru yet for attacking its' tamer and sneakily knocked him over with its' tail. Shikamaru glared reproachfully at it only to get growled at.

"Hey, be nice you two!" ordered Elaine.

Shikamaru and the dragon determinedly glared away from each other.

"He started it," mumbled Shikamaru.

Elaine sweat dropped and sighed…

The audience were going nuts and loudly trying to get Elaine's familiar to look at them. Sakura was applauding excitedly.

"Elaine is amazing!!" she said.

"Indeed! I've never seen such a beast! Her techniques are very youthful!" agreed Lee.

"Poor Shikamaru. I can't believe he lost," groaned Ino.

Chouji burped after eating so many chips and grinned.

"Come on, it was bound to happen!" pointed out the fatty.

"You are so negative, you know that!" snapped Ino.

Chouji just chuckled in amusement…

A majority of the judges had been particularly impressed by this match. They all begun chatting animatedly amongst themselves…

Elaine bid her familiar Farwell and had it turn into powder snow that fused with her pendant. She and Shikamaru then went up to the competitor's box where Domino and Naruto were excitedly waiting.

"I can't believe you perfected that Jutsu!" cried Domino upon their arrival. "You were awesome! Congratulations!"

Elaine stuck her tongue out playfully.

"I just got lucky. It took awhile for that egg to hatch so if Shikamaru had attacked me sooner, he might've won," said Elaine honestly yet modestly.

Naruto thumped Shikamaru on the back.

"See, I told you that you were strong!"

Shikamaru sighed and scratched his head.

"Please tell me that I'll never have to do anything so troublesome again. I swear, that dragon wanted to eat me," grumbled Shikamaru.

Everyone laughed at that.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru. She'll be much better behaved the next time you see her," promised Elaine.

"Oh joy, I got beat up by a lady dragon. How lame," grumbled Shikamaru again.

The others sweat dropped, then Naruto faced Elaine curiously.

"Elaine…your pendant was glowing during the match. At some point the one you gave me started glowing too. What does this mean?" asked Naruto.

Elaine smiled joyfully.

"You still have it!" she said happily.

"Yep!" replied Naruto with a grin while holding it up.

Shino gave a start.

"Those jewels…where did you get them?" asked the bug tamer.

"They're heirlooms passed down in my family. They're both said to bring good luck to those who possess one," replied Elaine.

Naruto shot Shino a curious look.

"What do you know about them?" asked the blond.

"No, it's nothing," replied Shino.

"Hey you're the one who brought it up!" wailed Naruto in his thirst for knowledge.

Shino simply ignored him. Naruto was about to press Shino for more information but the crowd begun getting rowdy again. With a frown, Naruto made a mental note to ask Elaine about it later…

* * *

The crowd quickly grew restless once more. It now came down to the match that everyone had been looking forward to for quite some time. Uchiha Sasuke versus Sabaku no Gaara!! The only problem was that Sasuke still hadn't arrived yet! Raido shot the Third a meaningful glance.

"Sir…" he begun.

"Yeah, I know. We cannot wait any longer, please inform…"

"Ten more minutes," interrupted Kazekage.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"We've already waited this long. What difference does ten more minutes make?" pressed Kazekage.

"Hm, you present a strong argument there, Kazekage. Alright, ten more minutes it is. Raido, if you please," requested Sarutobi.

"Yes sir!" complied Raido before going up in smoke once more…

The crowd was growing more restless by the minute as Genma was informed. Naruto growled in annoyance.

"What the hell is that idiot doing!?" cried Naruto angrily.

The others murmured their share of annoyed grumbles as well. In little time at all, nine minutes had passed. Fully fed up with waiting, Naruto hopped down to ask Genma if they could at least start Domino and Shino's match. It was just as Naruto opened his mouth that a tornado of wind and leaves appeared nearby. It died down soon to reveal Kakashi standing back to back with…

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto in both annoyance and relief.

Sasuke was dressed in a black one piece version of his usual clothes. There were bandage wrappings and chakra suppressing bands secured to his right arm. His hair was longer and completely untamed looking. His emotionless gaze was upon the ground. Kakashi smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, sorry about being late. So uh, he's not disqualified right?" asked Kakashi hopefully.

The audience erupted into the loudest storm of cheers yet! Genma smirked.

"You're lucky, Kakashi. He only just made it in time."

Naruto grinned.

"Where the hell have you been, huh?! For I second there I thought you were too chicken to fight me!" taunted Naruto.

Sasuke smirked.

"Really? I take it and idiot like you made it pass the first round?" countered Sasuke.

"You know it!" replied Naruto with a grin.

"Heh, don't get cocky yet, loser. You still have me to content with."

The two rivals smirked at each other. Both of them could feel the power radiating from each other's bodies. The thought of finally fighting each other was quite exciting to say the least. Sasuke then shifted his gaze to Gaara, who was observing him with mild interest. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Gaara as he promptly did the same to Naruto.

"Hey Sasuke, be careful when you fight that guy alright?" warned Naruto.

"Yeah," replied Sasuke darkly.

Genma gazed up at Gaara as well.

"Hey you, get down here."

Without a word, Gaara did just that. The sooner he got rid of this vermin, the sooner he could kill the blond brat was the only thing on his mind. Naruto shot Sasuke one last glance before proceeding up the stairs to rejoin the others. Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves and wind. Seeing his eternal rival joining with Sakura and company, Gai rushed over like a madman.

"Kakashi!" greeted Gai with a comical pose.

Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Hey, Gai," acknowledged the gray haired Jounin warily.

Kakashi then noticed Sakura's sad expression, causing him to feel guilty.

"Ah Sakura-chan, sorry I didn't tell you about training Sasuke," apologized Kakashi.

"That's not what's bothering me! Sasuke-kun…is he…?" begun Sakura.

"Don't worry about it. That won't be a problem anymore," reassured Kakashi.

This cheered Sakura up somewhat and she focused on the match. Gai nodded as if he understood what was going on. He then glanced at Kakashi over his shoulder.

"Let's see what kind of training you've been giving that kid. I'll bet it's nothing compared to my twenty mile jogs with Lee!" said Gai with a dazzling grin.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"Arggh, that was too hip, Kakashi! Why do you always pursue revolutionary actions!?" wailed Gai.

Every sweat dropped except for Lee, who was crying with Gai…

Naruto and Gaara stopped in front of each other when they met at the top of the stairs. They glared hatefully at each other for a full ten seconds before wordlessly passing each other by. Gaara's murderous intent was at an all time high when he entered the battle area. The audience sensed it and grew a bit quieter. Gaara wasn't playing around.

He and Sasuke faced each other with dislike written on both faces. Genma glanced between them.

"Finally we can get started. Since you weren't here, the rules are the same as the preliminaries. Begin!"

* * *

Sasuke cracked his neck to relieve his taunt neck muscles and advanced forward. Sand immediately rose out of Gaara's gourd. Sasuke tensed and hopped back in surprise.

"_So that's the sand Kakashi-sensei was talking about,_" observed the Uchiha.

"I hope you'll at least make a decent meal for mother. She's very picky about her blood," said Gaara coldly. "Come."

Sasuke assumed a stance.

"_Don't ask,_" thought Sasuke in reference to Gaara's mother comment.

Quickly, Sasuke hurled a wave of shuriken at Gaara. As usual, the sand blocked it. However, that same sand assumed the form of Gaara! It was obvious that it was a clone since it still looked like sand, but the sight was still unnerving. The clone tossed Sasuke's stars aside carelessly.

Sasuke charged towards Gaara, but the clone proceeded to launch a wave of sand from its' stomach. Sasuke took to the air and hurled a second wave of stars, this time at the clone. They didn't do any damage, but the clone was still stunned long enough for Sasuke to smash its' hand with a swift kick. He flipped onto his feet and smashed his arm into the thing's throat hard enough to behead it. The clone was instantly dispelled.

Immediately, Sasuke moved to sock Gaara in the face. As usual, the sand rose up to stop his attack. Sasuke just smirked and vanished in a flash of high speed! Everyone gave a start of total surprise. Sasuke appeared behind Gaara with his fist reared back for the hit.

"_Impossible! He moves like that blond guy!_" observed Gaara fearfully with everyone else's thoughts.

Sasuke hit him hard enough to not only crack Gaara's armor, but also to make a spray of spit fly from his mouth. Gaara flew back and landed with a pained grunt on his side. Gaara rose to a sitting position and glared hatefully at Sasuke. It seemed that there was one other for him to kill after all. Sasuke assumed Lee's initiative granting pose and smirked. He was using Lee's fighting style!

"Is that the Armor of Sand I've heard so much about? Heh, I'm not impressed!" taunted Sasuke coolly. "Get up and fight."

Gaara just glared balefully at him.

"Alright then, if that's the way you want it!" snapped Sasuke before vanishing once more.

He reappeared behind the startled Gaara. Fearfully, the redhead tried to attack with his sand but it was simply too freaking slow. Sasuke appeared directly next to Gaara and axe kicked him straight into the air. Sasuke smirked at his airborne prey.

"That all you've got?" he taunted before vanishing again.

Gaara was only an inch away from hitting the ground before he took another battering ram of a kick to the face. Gaara couldn't even go flying since Sasuke grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him in for a brutal head butt. Gaara cried out in real pain for once and Sasuke added to it with a extreme knee smash into his diaphragm. Sasuke then slugged Gaara seven times in a row with haymakers and hooks before scoring one last jump kick into Gaara's face.

The battered Sand hit the ground with a winded grunt. Judging by how relaxed and calm Sasuke looked, he had just been warming up…

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Naruto, who had been the only one besides Kakashi, Gai, Genmaru and Lee that could follow Sasuke's movement. "Sasuke is freakin winning!"

Sasuke had changed quite a bit in two months. By the looks of it, the Uchiha wasn't that much slower than Naruto with his weights on. That was more than enough to handle Gaara by the looks of it. The redhead was breathing heavily from his severe pounding, much to the shock of Kankuro, Baki and Temari who were both in the audience.

Slowly Gaara stood up and formed a seal. The whole time he glared hatefully at Sasuke as his sand formed a protective dome around him. Before it could seal him completely, Sasuke vanished in a flash once more and slugged Gaara in the face. The redhead groaned before angrily having his Shield of Sand grow some sharp spikes. Sasuke leaped back only just in time to avoid being impaled.

Once Sasuke was a good distance away, a floating eyeball appeared above the dome to watch what was happening outside. Sasuke vanished in a flash of speed and appeared a few feet above the dome. Gravity seized him and he quickly pulled off a powerful double stomp on the surface. It had no effect of course. Sasuke quickly kneeled, slapped his palm against the dome and vanished once more before another spike could try to impale him. Sasuke formed a prayer seal causing the exploding note he planted to detonate.

For a second, a hole had appeared in the barrier. Sadly, it resealed itself before Sasuke could take advantage of it. With a growl, Sasuke rushed the dome once more. As expected, spikes attempted to impale him once again. Sasuke effortlessly cart wheeled out of range of each attack and tossed one more exploding note onto the dome before leaping away. The Uchiha then hurled a kunai with a detonating note attached to the ring at the same spot.

Sasuke triggered the one he had planted creating a hole that the rigged knife sailed through. The Uchiha smirked and detonated that one, drawing a pained cry from Gaara. Still, the stubborn redhead wouldn't lower that shield for anything. Sasuke landed a few feet away and took a deep breath.

"_Alright then, you're asking for it now!_" thought Sasuke before smirking and activating his Sharingan.

Sasuke then grasped his right arm and removed the chakra sealing bands…

A glint appeared in Kakashi's eye.

"_Trying that move out already eh?_"

Sasuke's chakra jumped to HUGE levels once his suppressing bands had been removed. In turn, his speed had increased several times! He vanished while kicking up dust and loose soil and reappeared crouched upon the stadium wall. Sasuke formed some seals and seized his right hand with a frown of concentration on his face.

Sasuke's body begun glowing a bright shade of blue as electrical discharges erupted from his aura. Some of that energy snaked around his right arm to gather in his waiting palm. From there, a sphere of crackling energy begun to grow in his palm. What sounded like the chirping of a thousand birds rang throughout the arena. Energy rings then wove their way around Sasuke's body before a second sphere appeared in his other hand!

Sasuke grinned wickedly and spread both of his arms apart. This was Kakashi's ultimate move, Sasuke style! Duel Mode Chidori!

Every single person was staring at Sasuke with expressions of total awe. Especially Gai, who's mouth hung comically open as he grunted something that sounded like "Wuaah." Kakashi just smiled proudly…

The Uchiha vanished in a flash comparable to the speed Genmaru displayed when he fought Lee. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke had gone from the wall to standing besides Gaara's cocoon while both hands buried in it. Sasuke had pierced the shield!

"It's over," murmured the Uchiha darkly.

Not even three seconds passed before Gaara started screaming like a traumatized girl. The protective sand dome around Gaara collapsed lifelessly revealing the pasty pale looking redhead. He was shaking like mad as he lowered his gaze to his chest. The sand had stopped most of the attack, but Sasuke's palm was still buried in half an inch of Gaara's flesh. Blood trickled freely over Sasuke's hands.

Gaara glared hatefully into Sasuke's eyes before his gaze glazed over. He then slumped forward into the Uchiha's arms, completely out cold…

"Gaara!" cried Kankuro, Temari and their Jounin sensei as they all rushed to the defeated Sand's side.

Kankuro roughly shoved Sasuke aside and took his younger brother.

"Gaara! Come on, open your eyes!" cried Kankuro desperately.

"Gaara…" murmured Temari worriedly.

She and Kankuro both glared at Sasuke with the same thought in mind.

"_Someone like him broke thru Gaara's defenses?_"

Suddenly, a swarm of feathers begun to rain over the area. The sight of it confused a lot of people, until they begun nodding off one by one. The more experienced ninjas instantly recognized it as a Genjutsu and formed a seal.

"Kai!" cried Sakura, all of the Jounins, all of the stationed ANBU, every competitor and Genmaru along with random members of the audience.

In the Hokage's box, Sagitario had moved to Sarutobi's side with his sword drawn. His usual cheery smile replaced by grim seriousness. Sarutobi and the Kazekage looked each other in the eye.

"Go," ordered the Kazekage.

His body guard instantly was in motion. He produced a smoke grenade from his pouch and hurled it into the Hokage box. The bomb detonated filling the box with a thick veil of pepper. Everyone who wasn't caught in the Genjutsu turned towards the explosion with worried looks.

"What's going on!?" cried Naruto.

"I don't know, but that explosion came from Hokage-sama's box!" replied Elaine worriedly.

They all took note of a team of six men in black robes and one in white rushing to the explosion site. The ANBU were on the move…

"What is the meaning of this, Kazekage?!" asked Sarutobi with a surprised look.

Instead of answering, he hurled a kunai at Sarutobi. Raido quickly intercepted the projectile, taking the hit for the Third.

"Raido!" cried Sagitario in alarm.

The ANBU captain the growled and turned towards the murderer. Kazekage merely had his bodyguard rush Sagitario. The green haired Jounin barely batted an eye as he swung his blade once. In reality however, Sagitario had cut into his assailant thirty-two times at unimaginable speed! The former bodyguard, turned cold cut, dropped to the floor as dead as a doornail.

Still, he had distracted Sagitario long enough for the Kazekage to seize Sarutobi and take to the air with a kunai pressed to the older Kage's throat.

"Hokage-sama!" cried Sagitario before giving chase.

The ANBU captain was intercepted however, by a sticky thread of what looked like spider web. Sagitario cut through it and performed an array of flips to safety. He then looked up to find four strangers staring down on him from the rooftop above.

One was a tan guy with four arms and an odd looking purple outfit with a dark purple bow in the back. Another even weirder guy had two heads and purple lipstick on. A third was a scowling redhead girl that could only be called a tomboy. The last was a fat guy with patches of orange hair on his mostly bald head. They all wore forehead protectors with a music note on it, indicating them to be Sound ninjas!

"Damn it!" hissed Sagitario in frustration.

Abruptly, the seven ANBU members appeared on either side of Sagitario.

"Hokage-sama! Captain, what's going on!?" asked the one in white.

"I'm not sure, but we must protect the Third! Squad two, act as back up support! Squad six, help neutralize the enemy and evacuate the civilians! Vice Captain Buto, find Yugito and rally up all capable fighters for a counterattack! Go!" ordered Sagitario.

The ANBU in white, Buto, relayed those orders and set off to find Yugito as instructed. Only three other ANBU stood besides Sagitario as squad six also obeyed their orders. Sagitario then pointed his sword at the Kazekage.

"I don't know why you're betraying us, but this will end here!" declared the green haired ninja.

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes.

"Go," he said.

"Sir!" replied the four oddballs while forming seals. "Shishi Enjin!"

A bright beam of light surrounded the four and slowly rose up in the form of some box like barrier. Before the barrier was sealed completely, Sagitario vanished in a flash of speed and managed to slip inside. The Kazekage growled in irritation at this sudden change of events.

"Captain!" cried one of the ANBU before trying to force his way into the barrier.

The moment he came in contact with the Violet Flame Field, he literally burst into flame. He cried out in pain before losing his balance and falling to his death. The remaining ANBU members made sure to stay clear of the wall after that. The Kazekage chuckled evilly, much to the fury of Sagitario and Sarutobi.

"Why are you doing this? Why team up with Sound ninjas and betray us?!" demanded Sagitario.

"Fool, that treaty was just a rouse to get you to lower your guard. We won't stand by and let Konoha hog all of the glory any longer," replied Kazekage.

"Are you looking to start a war?" asked Sagitario coolly.

"Yes, we are," confirmed Kazekage. "Besides, a world that is too peaceful is so dull right, Sarutobi-sensei?"

The Third narrowed his eyes at that while Sagitario tightened his grip on his sword.

"It's been a long time…Orochimaru."

* * *

Kakashi, Gai, Sakura and Genmaru all gritted their teeth at the turn of events.

"Hokage-sama is in trouble," murmured Gai.

"Yeah, to outsmart ANBU members is quite something. Those four aren't normal," agreed Kakashi.

Abruptly, an additional ANBU along with four enemy Sounds appeared before them. The two groups glared at each other.

"Looks like there was a spy in our mist," observed Genmaru. "Think he was the one using that Genjutsu?"

"I'm sure of it," confirmed Kakashi.

Suddenly, two of the Sounds leaped towards the nearest target. That being Sakura, she froze in momentary panic. Kakashi appeared protectively in front of her with a kunai in each fist and sliced one up in midair. Genmaru dealt with the second one in a flash of speed followed with seventeen speedy sword strokes and a slash straight down his middle. Both were sent flying, as bloody messes.

"You alright, Sakura?" asked Genmaru over his shoulder.

"Yeah," replied the pink haired girl.

"Good, now just stay like that for a moment okay?" requested Kakashi.

Sakura shook her head in the negative.

"I want to fight too! I can help!" she protested.

Kakashi sighed and agreed to let her join the fight, hoping that he wouldn't have to protect her so much this time. The ANBU/spy whistled at that moment and dozens of Sound ninjas begun to enter the stadium. Every Jounin and ANBU present then begun to engage in a furious melee with the invaders…

* * *

Sasuke was totally confused by the sudden carnage. Genma faced the regrouped Sand team with his face set.

"I take it you guys were in on it?" demanded the judge.

Baki faced his subordinates.

"Take Gaara someplace to recover! Once he's battle ready, returned to carry out the mission!" he ordered while glaring at Genma out the corner of his eye. "I'll take care of this guy!"

"Sir!" said Kankuro and Temari together before each taking hold of one of Gaara's arms.

"You really think things will go your way?" asked Genma coolly.

Baki glared balefully at him.

"I'll make it happen," he vowed.

Kankuro and Temari quickly took to the air with Gaara. They landed on top of the wall and leaped off to flee into town.

"What the?! What's going on?!" demanded Sasuke.

The adults ignored him.

"Is Orochimaru behind this?" demanded Genma.

"Heh, I don't know. Maybe I'll tell you if you beat me," quipped Baki with an anticipating smirk.

Genma narrowed his eyes.

"Sasuke. The exams are over now and I'm assigning you an important mission. Pursuit those three and stop them at all cost," ordered the judge.

"Alright, they won't escape," promised Sasuke before dashing in the direct they had gone.

Baki tried to stop him with a kunai but Genma blocked it by spitting his stick at the flying knife with surprising skill. The projectiles were knocked harmlessly aside allowing Sasuke to vault safely over the wall after them. With an annoyed tsk, Baki faced Genma once more.

* * *

Naruto, Domino, Elaine, Shikamaru and Shino saw all this with intrigued expressions.

"Where the hell is he going?" wondered Naruto.

"I think he's chasing after that Gaara guy," said Elaine.

"Well then, I'm going after him," declared Naruto determinedly.

"That is unadvised. We should seek council from an adult," droned Shino.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei look like they could use a hand," agreed Domino. "Let's help out."

The others nodded that they were okay with that and made their way to Genmaru in the others.

"This is such a drag," groaned Shikamaru before following after them.

* * *

"Wow that was a good guess!" taunted Orochimaru. "And here I was thinking that I could take Sasuke-kun. Oh well…"

"What does Sasuke have to do with you, Orochimaru?" asked Sarutobi quite calmly for a man with a kunai pressed to his throat.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, old man. Besides, shouldn't you be a bit more worried about your precious Konoha?" replied Orochimaru while removing his stolen face to reveal his pasty pale one.

"I see, I always knew that this day would come," grumbled Sarutobi tiredly. "But you won't be escaping alive this time, Orochimaru."

"Not quite. I did warn you to pick a Fifth sooner, Third," contradicted the snake tamer with a evil grin. "Too late now. You're going to die here," he licked his kunai with his freaky tongue.

Sagitario growled, but Orochimaru just yawned in boredom at his intimidation attempt. He then released the Third and backed up a few paces. Sagitario didn't move yet, wary of a surprise attack. The Third then turned towards Orochimaru seriously.

"You're not the type to seek out revenge for trivial things. What are you really trying to do?" asked the Third.

"I suppose I do have a goal. For the most part though, I'm just looking to be entertained with the destruction of Konoha," replied Orochimaru while removing his hat and tossing it aside.

Sarutobi chuckled.

"Still the same little whelp I remember," said the Third while grasping his own hat…

* * *

Outside of Konoha's East most protective wall, a gathered platoon of ninja's led by Vice Captain Buto stood ready to fight. They were all on high alert for anything out of ordinary. Such a thing came all too soon when one of the watch men in the guard tower sounded the alarm.

"We're under attack by a large triple headed snake! There's also a group of about a hundred Sand ninjas headed this way!" cried the archer on duty.

"Okay! Prepare for battle, men!" cried Buto.

Not even a minute later, said snake smashed through the walls of Konoha. The snakes were immediately bombarded by arrows rigged with detonating notes. One of the watch towers also made use of its' recently installed machine gun and attacked with hundreds of shuriken. The footmen also added to the mix using wave after wave of various Ninjutsu techniques. It was like the war of the Kyuubi all over again!

Buto and a team of ten other ninjas used the carnage to sneak pass the snake so that they could engage the Sand ninjas as well. They last thing they needed was a sudden sneak attack while they were trying to get rid of that hydra of a snake. Thus is the nature of war, the war of Konoha that is…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo, it's Aninene!! Happy belated mothers day to all those wonderful mommies out there. I'm sure all of your kids love you very much. I know I love my mom :3 Reading this chapter a few times, I always laugh at Shikamaru's fight with that dragon! Heck, I would've done the same thing! XD You've seen it, the start of the Chuunin exam and the Konoha war! Okay guys, which fight did you like the most :)

It's official, tons of reviews per chapter have finally become common. YAY!! Okay, here we go!

Digi fan: Nobody can really say for sure yet. So far however, most of the onlookers have found the new and improved Naruto to be quite powerful this chapter. :)

jbalman: Yahoo! It feels awesome knowing that you love my work. :) Right now, Gaara has been hurt really badly by Sasuke so it'll be hard for him to fight at all. I won't spoil it, but if Gaara does fight he'll be in major trouble. XD Omg!! You have to be a mind reader! I was so planning on doing that! XD

zerodragon: Yep, Naruto is quite the warrior now. :) Heh, just like I promised no more cannon. Once the Chuunin arc is over it'll all be me :) The people watching Naruto during the obstacle course are major characters that'll make their debut really soon. They are the foundation of a majority of the fic too. :) So what did you think of everyone's training results? They all had some new techniques thanks to the extra month they had to train.

CodeKyuubi: lol, you got me again! I plan on going back and fixing all of those errors once the fic is done, sorry about that. XD Yowza, you put a lot of thought into that! XD You're absolutely right, wind is the more destructive of the two when put that way. It's just as well, considering how I set up Naruto's new technique it supports your logic perfectly. (Sweat drop) I'm learning quite a bit from you, please continue to voice your thoughts! Thank you for helping to make me an even better writer :)

cooltony101neo: I want to, I really really want to. Alas, I couldn't come up with a good way to end his battle with Orochimaru without conflicting with my original plans. Same with the exam but there's that problem of Sasuke copying everyone's techniques with his Sharingan. I can't let the Uchiha get too strong too soon after all. However, those matches will be continued at later times in the fic for the Chuunin rank. :) It sucked when they didn't at least resume the battles after Orochimaru's attack had been over. It must've slipped everyone's mind due to the damage the village suffered and the Third's death. Oh well…

BlackRoseFire: Right on! I'll do my absolute best :D

shikamaru the nerd: lol, I'm sorry one thousand times! XD I didn't want Naruto to use the bow at this point in time due to Elaine's display of the weapon. But I totally agree with you, a good bow rocks to the extreme! By ranger are you thinking World of Warcraft or another anime? Rest assured, ranger Naruto will make his appearance a bit later on. :) It'll be awhile though.

Ah, it feels great not to have to write that annoying disclaimer anymore. :3 One other thing to celebrate, the fic had over 10,000 hits! Yeah! XD

Rank it and Clank it, baby!

Naruto - C Minus rank with a Focus Gauge of 80/100

Naruto - B Minus rank when joining might with the Kyuubi.

Sasuke - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 100/100

Sasuke - C Rank using Sharingan

Sasuke - C Plus Rank fully releasing sealed chakra to use Double Chidori

Domino - C Rank

Domino - C Plus Rank wearing armor

Domino - B Minus Rank using Earth Dance combined with armor

Elaine - C Rank

Ice Dragon - B Rank

Genmaru - C Plus Rank

Neji - C Rank

Neji - C Plus Rank using Byakugan

Shikamaru - C Minus Rank

Dosu - C Rank

Gaara - B Minus Rank

Kakashi - B Plus Rank

Sagitario - A Plus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 100/100

Alright guys, the chase is coming up and possibly the greatest showdown of all will be starting in the next chapter. Stay tuned, you won't want to miss it :)


	15. Enter the Gods of Nindo!

**The War of the Snake!**

**Enter the Gods of Nindo!**

The fighting had reached an all time high. Naruto was a raging blur of Taijutsu fury as he battled three opponents at once. Genmaru was even more so, often cutting down his foes as quickly as they engaged him. Domino's power packed punches and Elaine's cat like fighting was also making short work out of the invaders. The problem was that no matter how many they defeated, more would take their place.

Kakashi cut down one Sound in midair and knocked him aside with his elbow. He then hopped back to where Naruto and the others were mostly grouped together.

"Kakashi-sensei, should we spread out and help protect other sectors of town? It doesn't look like we'll be able to stop them from capturing this place! There's simply too many of them!" voiced Sakura while deflecting any kunai that got to close too her friends.

"No, I have another assignment for you guys," announced Kakashi. "As you all saw, Sasuke went after those kids from Sand. I want you guys to form a four man platoon and go after him. Assist Sasuke in his mission then report back here and wait for orders."

"Got it, but who's joining the platoon?" asked Elaine while hurling a wave of Senbon at an unsuspecting enemy.

"I'm definitely going!" declared Naruto determinedly. "If it's Gaara we're talking about, Sasuke will need a hand!"

Everyone who wasn't fighting at the moment nodded at the logic behind that.

"Alright then I'm coming with you!" insisted Sakura.

Nobody really agreed to this as much, however it was a pretty good idea. Since Sasuke had chased those guys in the direction of the forest, odds were that enemy encounters would be fewer. That and Naruto was sure to protect Sakura from any harm they may come across. Everyone nodded their agreement.

"Alright, so we need two more in the group," said Sakura.

Genmaru cleaved through three more opponents and glanced over his shoulder.

"Sorry, but I'll stay. There's no reason for me to go if Naruto is with you," said the misty eyed ninja.

"I'm staying too," added Domino.

That left Elaine, Shino and Shikamaru. Kakashi spoke up.

"I already have a third member in mind. If you're to find Sasuke, you'll want to take this guy along,"

Kakashi cut his thumb with his kunai and pressed his hand to the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a poof of smoke, a small brown pug appeared. The pup had a forehead protector on top of its' head and was wearing a blue ninja jacket. He stared at everyone with an expression of boredom.

"Pakkun's nose will enable you to track Sasuke. He can also alert you to any enemies nearby," explained Kakashi.

"A dog huh?" observed Sakura while giving it a once over.

The tiny pup glared at her.

"Don't call me cute, girly," grumbled the dog.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock at the fact that it could talk. Naruto and those that could at the moment, snickered. The pooch wasn't exactly cute, not bad looking but not cute either. It now came down to the final team member.

"I'll go," volunteered Elaine. "Gaara uses sand right? It should be harder for him to use it if it gets wet."

Shikamaru sighed in relief. For a second there he thought that the pup was looking at him with a considering gaze. Shino didn't say anything.

"Okay, this is an A ranked mission. Failure is not acceptable, got that?" said Kakashi.

The team nodded.

"Okay, go!" ordered Kakashi.

The four then took off in the direction Sasuke had went. Shino stared after them for a few seconds. Then without warning, he gave chase before anyone could stop him. Everyone was too busy fighting off attackers to notice very much anyway. The ANBU/spy on the other hand did notice. Immediately, he sent a team of Sounds after them. The chase had begun…

* * *

The oversized snake wasn't slowing down in the slightest, no matter what attacked it. The machine gunner was starting to run low on ammo and the archers had given up on the mostly useless exploding notes. A majority of the footmen were doing more retreating than fighting as the serpent knocked buildings over in an effort to crush them. The situation was pretty grim and only worsened when the creature separated into three individual snakes by shedding its' skin…

Buto and his team, on the other hand, were in a furious dance of life and death as they battled the Sand army.

"You're not taking another step!" cried Buto as he cut one of them down with a kunai.

His other ten fighters were just as aggressive. Consisting of random Jounin and most useful of all, a Dragon Clan member. This guy was easily beating any opponent in his path with his bare hands as if it were a training drill. He was the oldest member of the clan, Hito Tanaka. Tanaka had a long white beard that he was constantly stroking as he fought. He was dressed in a white and yellow Gi with matching pants. Unlike other males from the clan, he only carried a dragon handled dagger instead of a sword.

Tanaka raised one hand into the air.

"Ryuuoh Raiton, Raijin Ryuu!"

A bolt of electricity struck the center of the enemy advance party sending many of them flying with electrical discharges around their bodies. That same bolt of lightening then begun bouncing around to different locations, further disorienting the enemy. This battle was just getting started…

* * *

"It's hard to believe that the three of us can finally fight each other again," commented Orochimaru with an amused smile.

The Third smirked and chuckled at this while Sagitario coolly brushed his bangs aside with his free hand. Without a word, the three rushed each other. Sarutobi quickly formed some seals as he ran.

"Kawara Shuriken!"

Several of the roof tiles rose up and shot towards Orochimaru.

"Nice try!" snapped Orochimaru while taking to the air.

He was about to form seals but Sagitario appeared before him in an instant. Quickly he smashed his elbow into Orochimaru's face causing him to drop directly into the path of the roof tiles. Seven of them smacked Orochimaru causing him to cry out in pain.

"Meddlesome fool!" growled the snake tamer once all of the tiles had smashed him.

His moment of distraction exposed him to the wrath of the Third.

"Doton, Doryuu Taiga!"

Orochimaru was hit by a wave of mud that sent him sliding backwards. Orochimaru grunted and flashed through some seals.

"I don't think so! Doton, Doryuudan!" cried the Third.

A dragon head rose out of the muck and fired off mud balls that hardened into razor sharp shards. Sarutobi chained to his attack immediately.

"Karyuudan!"

With a long winded stream of flame, not only did Orochimaru get barbequed but the stone shards where ignited as well for additional damage! Orochimaru screamed like a man on his death bed. Sarutobi rolled his eyes. Sagitario then appeared by his side protectively.

"Knock off the pathetic acting and get serious, boy," grumbled the Third.

The snake tamer laughed and rose out of the roof tile that he had fused with at the last second before impact.

"Where's your sense of humor, old man? I thought you were playing with me considering how pathetic those attacks were," taunted Orochimaru.

"Perhaps we should all get serious then," suggested Sagitario darkly.

Orochimaru grinned evilly.

"Very well."

The very air between the three of them shimmered violently due to their unseen auras. Their levels of chakra was clearly off the chart! Sarutobi removed his hat and robes revealing that he was wearing a black ninja costume with a samurai helmet and a swamp green arm guard. Orochimaru did the same, revealing the same outfit he wore during his fight with Sasuke. The very tiles were cracking under the strain of their powers.

"Don't expect me to go easy on either of you fools," taunted Orochimaru.

"Better worry about yourself. This is going to be the last fight you pick, Orochimaru," murmured Sagitario.

"Once this is over I may make you redo your training depending on your performance," added Sarutobi.

Orochimaru chuckled at that. The trio then rushed each other once more. Sarutobi hurled a shuriken forward and formed some seals.

"Shuriken Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

One star became a hundred at that moment! Sagitario added to the mix with some seals of his own. He then threw a rose forward.

"Futon, Hana Ryuu!"

The lighter and much easier to manipulate petals on his rose separated from the stem and multiplied until there were a thousand of them. All of the projectiles hurled towards Orochimaru with the intent of cutting him down. Quickly he flashed through some seals and clasped his hands together.

"Meet my backup support! Kuchiyose, Edo Tensei!" cried Orochimaru.

Sarutobi and Sagitario gave starts of surprise. A vortex of dark energy appeared before the snake tamer.

"First!"

A coffin rose out of the vortex bearing the Japanese characters for Element.

"Second!"

The next and final coffin rose up next to that one bearing the symbol for four. The wooden boxes easily stopped all of the stars and the energy field surrounding the coffins simply destroyed the rose petals. Orochimaru gave an evil smirk as the wooden containers opened themselves releasing two thick veils of smoke.

"_Damn it, of all the people he could've summoned it had to be them!_" mused Sagitario and the Third as one.

"So what will you do now oh great Captain of the ANBU and Sandaime Hokage?" teased the snake tamer cruelly.

From the coffin with Element, a man stepped forth. He was dressed in black pants, a black T-shirt and a black jacket with white lining. He wore a Konoha forehead protector and the cloth was both black and rather long. In his right hand he held a katana that was as long as he was tall. The handle ended in a realistic white dragon head. The man's hair was silver as well as long and spiky. His black eyes slowly took in everything as he surveyed his surroundings. This man was the only member of the Dragon Clan to obtain the title of Dragon Lord, the strongest of them all. Everyone who saw him now had a pretty good idea of what an adult Genmaru would look like.

From the second coffin emerged Yondaime. He looked exactly the same as he did during Naruto's trip to the past. He too surveyed his surroundings.

"I never expected to see you two like this. I'm mortified," admitted the Third sadly.

"Xi…" added Sagitario with both sadness and fear.

Xi and the Fourth turned their attention to Sagitario and Sarutobi.

"What's going on here, Sagitario-sensei?" asked Xi curiously.

"Something's amidst. Neither of us should be here," said the Fourth.

"It's true, please forgive us for this. Now, prepare yourself Yondaime-sama and Xi-sama," requested the third determinedly.

The aforementioned duo glanced over their shoulders towards Orochimaru.

"You dare to summon us like this, who do you think you are?" said Xi coldly.

"I'm impressed that someone like you can even use that technique," voiced the Fourth as well.

Orochimaru smirked and produced a pair of kunai with tags attached to them. Xi and the Fourth knew what was coming, and shot apologetic glances to their former allies. With that, the snake tamer placed the knifes into the back of Xi and Yondaime's skulls…

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, Elaine and Pakkun had been traveling for nearly five minutes in the forest of Konoha. The brief trip through town to get there had been pretty dangerous, as ninjas were fighting everywhere. However, once that obstacle had been cleared, the rest had been smooth sailing.

"Damn that Sasuke, he could've at least waited for us," grumbled Naruto.

"Maybe but given the situation, it was pretty hard to get organized right away," pointed out Elaine.

"I hope Sasuke-kun is alright," added Sakura. "If he catches up to them, he'll be outnumbered."

"Ah he'll be fine, Sasuke's a jerk at times but he's not stupid," reassured Naruto.

This helped put Sakura at ease somewhat.

"Pakkun, how far ahead do you think Sasuke is?" asked Elaine.

The pooch sniffed the air.

"It's hard to tell. He's moving a lot faster than us right now so it'll take a while to catch up to him," reported the pug.

Sakura became crestfallen.

"It's because of me. Naruto and Elaine could easily catch up to him but I can't travel as quickly as they can," admitted Sakura sadly.

Elaine shook her head in the negative.

"It's okay, Sakura. I'd rather move slower and make sure that you're safe than leave you to get killed back there," said the blue haired girl.

Naruto nodded in agreement.

Pakkun suddenly started sniffing the air.

"Guys, we have a problem. The enemy are chasing after us, I'm detecting nine in all," reported the pug.

"Darn, that was fast," groaned Elaine. "What should we do about them?"

"I say we ambush them so we can move on!" said Naruto confidently.

"No, those guys have been trained by Orochimaru. They'll most likely be just as knowledgeable about the terrain as us," shot down Pakkun.

"Then what should we do?" asked Sakura.

"Simple enough. Since a direct ambush as a group won't work, one of us will have to stay behind and act as a decoy," answered Elaine. "The problem is that that person will be outnumbered and highly vulnerable."

The others grew serious at this revelation but they didn't stop moving.

"We need Pakkun to find Sasuke so the job is open to us three," continued Elaine.

"No way, Elaine! I won't let you do it, besides you have the best chance of disabling Gaara," insisted Naruto determinedly.

Elaine blushed at Naruto's concern for her well being. His logic also made perfect sense in any case. Sakura looked scared but also readily willing to take the job. Before the kunoichi could volunteer, Naruto grinned, flipped into a handstand and boosted off in the opposite direction.

"You guys go ahead, I'll teach those idiots what Uzumaki Naruto is all about!" declared Naruto with a laugh.

Everyone was a little reluctant to let Naruto follow through with his plan, but deep down they knew that he had the best chance of surviving that confrontation.

"Alright, you be careful out there, Naruto!" called Elaine.

"If things look bad, get out of there!" added Sakura.

Naruto just waved over his shoulder and stood waiting in one of the trees with his arms folded…

* * *

Ibiki growled in anger. The oversized snakes had started wrecking houses by this point. Try as they might, nothing anyone did was having any kind of effect on the creatures hard body. It didn't help matters that many of the surviving Sands from Buto's raid were engaging the footmen either. One serpent was just about to smash up the Hokage's place when a loud voice boomed out.

"Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu!"

In a cloud of massive smoke, the snake was completely squashed by an oversized toad with samurai swords on its' back. The snake spat up some blood before going still, very much dead. Riding on the toad's head was none other than Jiraiya himself.

"It's been awhile, Ibiki! Don't tell me that the only thing that grew was your body! I was hoping you would be stronger than this. Your fighting was so bad that I almost couldn't bear to watch," teased Jiraiya with an amused smile.

"Jiraiya-sama!" exclaimed Ibiki in total surprise.

The Toad Hermit was apparently very good at masking his presence. It was hard to believe that Ibiki never once seen him during his two month stay. Jiraiya begun doing his crazy dance again.

"Hey you cowardly snakes! Freezing in the presence of a toad is disgraceful! Get out of here or face the wrath of the wild mountain hermit, Jiraiya-dono!!" bellowed Jiraiya while striking a pose.

The remaining two snakes just hissed and slithered forward to engage their new foe…

* * *

The Sound pursuit unit came to an abrupt stop in a clearing area. Standing before them was Naruto with his arms folded coolly and a smug smile on his face.

"Yo guys. You're pretty slow," taunted Naruto.

The Sounds looked amongst themselves as if to say, "Is he seriously going to fight us by himself?" In answer to their unvoiced question, Naruto vanished in a flash and reappeared in front of one with his back turned. Pain was that poor man's only gift as Naruto smashed his elbow into his solar plexus! His eyes glazed over and he dropped like a stack of potatoes.

"What the hell!?" exclaimed one as Naruto vanished again.

A second guy took a solid knee directly to the nose, shattering it. He sank to the ground and moaned, the desire to fight no longer present. The remaining guys hurriedly drew kunai and charged with enraged cries at Naruto. Surrounded on all sides, Naruto ducked the kunai attack from a guy behind him and spun while lashing out his leg to kick that same guy in the face. Naruto spun and knocked aside the thrusting arm of another guy besides him and repeated the move to a third.

Naruto then begun flickering every time they attacked due to how fast he was dodging every knife thrust. Naruto took to the air when the Sounds tried to sweep his legs. Quickly Naruto formed a seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Six clones joined the real Naruto and each of them targeted one of the startled men.

"Try our new Taijutsu move on for size!" they all cried as one. "Kaiten Kakatou Otoshi!"

The long winded name of his technique turned out to literally be the use of aerial skips for a devastating Spinning Heel Drops into the nerves of each Sound's neck. All of them dropped, completely out cold. The clones landed and vanished in clouds of smoke. Naruto turned around and gazed up into the trees.

"You may as well come out now. You're the last one right?" said Naruto calmly.

The Sound hiding in the trees was shaking in fear. This kid beat down an entire squad of Chuunin in less than two minutes. He himself was a Jounin but he seriously doubted that he would win this fight. With that in mind, he made a break for it. The Sound had just leaped into another tree only to have Naruto appear out of thin air and lash out with a snap kick. The Sound hopped back just in time to avoid it, but something or other tackled him from behind. It had been a clone!

"Uzumaki Power Bomb!" cried his captor.

This was the last thing he heard before he smashed head first into the earth…

* * *

Temari and Kankuro came to a sudden stop when a well timed kunai struck the tree in front of them. Sasuke then appeared in front of them in a flash of high speed.

"Pardon me, were you going somewhere?" taunted the Uchiha with a smirk and a second kunai in hand.

"It's that Sasuke kid," observed Temari.

"That's right, the one who's going to defeat you," said Sasuke coolly.

"Damn it! Bring it on then, punk!" cried Kankuro heatedly.

Temari advanced forward.

"Kankuro, take Gaara and run. I'll deal with him myself," ordered the wind master before quickly hurling a wave of kunai at Sasuke.

The Uchiha barely batted an eye and stepped aside causing the wave to miss. Kankuro didn't like Temari's suggestion one bit, but he understood what she was trying to do. Quickly Kankuro shifted his grip on Gaara and took off running. Sasuke watched his progress without much concern since he knew that catching up to him would be simple. Sasuke turned to Temari and assumed a stance.

"Well, let's get this over with then," said Sasuke without much interest in the fight.

Temari used her fan to blow Sasuke backwards. The Uchiha performed a few flips and landed safely on another tree branch. He and Temari both took to the air at the same time. Sasuke hurled a swarm of shuriken that Temari proceeded to blow away with a second gust of wind. Temari quickly followed up.

"Kamaitachi!"

Calmly, Sasuke ricocheted off of the tree he had landed on and begun climbing the branches like a ladder. Sasuke was just getting started. In a flash of speed, he appeared behind Temari and kicked her in the back. Temari stumbled into a roll ending with her facing Sasuke's direction and swung her fan again.

"Fuusajin!"

Once more Sasuke vanished to take cover behind a nearby tree. The reason for Temari's technique being call Dust Winds was made apparent when the winds wore away most of the tree kicking up blinding saw dust. Sasuke sighed in annoyance when the technique came to an end and used his speed once more to appear in front of Temari. He quickly performed some seals and took a breath.

"Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!"

Just as Devil had done, Sasuke had shuriken launched from his body covered in flames. Temari tried to block with her fan but Sasuke chained his attack.

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Just as it did with Orochimaru, the combined techniques formed a funnel of inescapable flames. Temari gasped as the for coming flames engulfed her. Not bothering to see if his technique worked or not, Sasuke turned to give chase to Kankuro and Gaara. It took three rapid swings of her fan before Temari was able to free herself from the inferno. Her clothes had been slightly burned and she suffered more than her fair share of cuts from the shuriken. With a growl, Temari chased after Sasuke to get revenge for her humiliation…

* * *

Yugito and four other ANBU had arrived to assist with the fighting. They were truly a force to be reckoned with as they made use of various traps and their paralysis technique. They all made relatively short work out of many of the Sounds and Sands in the village.

Hizashi Hyuuga had also came to lend a hand. By himself he fought and defeated several dozen Sands without so much as a scratch in return. Often he would knock them out with single palm thrusts and the Kusho technique when they got too close.

Elsewhere, Shikaku Nara had stopped a group of the enemy with his Shadow Imitation and was taking great enjoyment in throttling them with the Neck Bind. One by one they were passing out from lack of air.

Inoichi Yamanaka was also kicking butt. Using techniques to force the enemy to fight amongst themselves was certainly handy on his part.

Choza Akimichi had grown mega sized and was stepping on every foe he saw like bugs. The whole time he was humming a tune that sounded a lot like the Megaman theme song.

Along the rooftops, Tsume, Hana and the rest of the Inuzuka pack were ripping into any opponent they encountered with animalistic fury. More than one Sand/Sound had gotten their throats ripped out by them.

Anko and Iruka were tag teaming any opponents they came across. Those two were a more formidable team than anyone had expected.

The remainder of the enemy was devastated by none other than the Dragon Clan itself. Fifty members were dashing about to engage with foes that may as well have been untrained children by comparison. There was little doubt that this battle for the village had been won. The only threats left were the two giant snakes.

"Katon, Gamayu Endan!" cried Jiraiya as his summon launched a spray of oil at one.

The ignited toad oil barbequed the serpent to the point of being extra crispy. Still, it wouldn't die from just flames alone.

"Kuchiyose, Hama Ryougen no Jutsu!" came the voice of Tanaka.

In the largest smoke cloud seen thus far, a creature that stood two hundred meters tall appeared. Everything about it was as black as a starless sky at night save for its' violet eyes. It had massive wings that blocked the sun from view. Its' roar struck terror into the hearts of everyone, friend or foe alike. This was the King of Dragons, the product of the summoning Jutsu that few could ever master. The Evil Vanishing Black Dragon King, Zephier.

Just as the legend upon the gateway claimed, its' breath razed its' foes to cinders. In a single blast, the first snake was reduced to ash. Jiraiya grinned and lowered his gaze to the old man standing atop one of the roofs.

"Showoff!" cried the toad stage.

Tanaka just laughed as the jolly old man with the butt kicking dragon…

* * *

Gai was a true beautiful green beast as he effortlessly beat the daylights out of his foes one by one. He turned and flashed the nice guy pose to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, how many did you beat?" asked Gai loudly.

"Twenty-two," replied Kakashi carelessly.

"Heh, looks like I win again! I got twenty-three!" announced Gai with a pleased grin.

"Yeah yeah, I'm happy for you," responded Kakashi in exasperation.

"Whoo that attitude of yours is hip! It makes you such a worthy rival of mine!" declared Gai with a laugh.

The two then resumed fighting. With Gai making quite a show out of this one sided competition…

Domino and company had beaten back a majority of the invaders by this point. Naturally Domino gasped in total shock when she took a moment to glance at the Hokage's match.

"Genmaru! Look up there!" she cried while pointing.

The misty eyed ninja followed her point and gave a start.

"That's…it can't be…Onii-san!" murmured Genmaru with wide eyes.

He was staring directly at his older brother! What's more, he was fighting with Sagitario-sensei…

Steam rose off of Xi and Yondaime's bodies as their personalities were sealed away. Slowly, color and life came back to their exposed skin. Their expressions however, became blank and devoid of any kind of emotion. They merely stared at their foes, Xi at Sagitario and Yondaime at the Third. Orochimaru laughed.

"Okay boys, it's play time!" announced the sadist of a snake tamer while forming a pyramid with his hands.

Wordlessly, his brainwashed summons advanced to engage their chosen foes. Sagitario and the Third tensed for battle. In twin flashes of insane speed, Xi and Yondaime attacked!

Yondaime smashed his palm into Sarutobi's chest, knocking him back a few feet and planting a Jutsu formula at the same time. The Third had no time at all to recover. Quickly the Fourth scored a solid double punch into his face followed by a spinning snake kick to his midriff. Sarutobi skidded back and with a groan caught the Fourth follow up punch. The Third then used a knee lift to launch him into the air. Sarutobi formed some seals for a technique, but Yondaime vanish thanks to his Flying Thunder God technique. A spray of spit shot forth as Yondaime speedily slugged him in the stomach…

Sagitario wasn't faring any better. Xi was moving easily seven time faster than the ANBU captain. All Sagitario had been able to do thus far was block his sword strikes just millimeters from critical areas. Trying to stop Xi's punches and kicks however was but a distant dream. A string of blood left Sagitario's mouth due to an uppercut with strength comparable to that of Domino! Sagitario made a quick recovery in midair and hurled his sword at Xi. He then formed a never before seen seal.

"Ryuuoh Ninpou, Yachi Kazeryuu!"

Sagitario's sword split into eight-thousand identical copies and assumed the forms of dragons made out of pure wind! The beasts all roared and swooped upon the Legendary Xi, who's eyes were glowing with multiple eerie lights. Xi rammed his sword into the roof and formed seals so quickly that no one could even see him doing it. Xi performed two-hundred and twelve seals in the span of a split second!

"Mugen."

Xi grasped his sword.

"Toppa no Hikari."

With a single swing of his blade, a blast of energy beyond the limits of anything save for the Kyuubi, incinerated every single dragon in its' path on its way to Sagitario. So massive and fast moving was this blast that there was no chance of Sagitario's escape. Xi certainly lived up to the title of Dragon Lord…

"No! Sagitario-sensei!" cried a horror stricken Genmaru.

So caught up he was in the battle that he failed to detect the enemy Sound ninja rushing him from behind. The Sound had a savage gleam of victory in his eyes as he raised his kunai for the final blow. He was unexpectedly sent flying by a typhoon of wind. Genmaru turned towards the source with surprised eyes to find Rose smirking at him with her Naginata slung over her shoulders.

"My my Genmaru-kun, if you drop your guard so much you'll get hurt," warned Rose sweetly.

"Sorry," was all Genmaru could manage before reluctantly focusing on his own battle instead of the events occurring in the Flame Field…

The energy attack hit home and Sagitario screamed in agony. Abruptly, the dying ANBU captain turned into a bunch of flower petals! The blast continued on and smashed a hole through the Flame Field. It restored itself pretty quickly though. Xi begun searching for his crafty opponent…

The Third took to the air due to a battering ram of a chin kick from Yondaime. The old man had been taking a sever pounding. He landed a few feet away in a crouched position while breathing heavily. Without a word, the Fourth held up his palm and created a Spiraling Sphere of chakra. Knowing what was coming, Sarutobi quickly formed some seals and took a breath.

"Ryuuoh Ninpou, Dai Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

Just as Genmaru had done during the preliminaries, a massive ball of flame was formed. Sarutobi launched it towards the real enemy of this fight, Orochimaru. The snake tamer's eyes widened in shock and he desperately shot a glance at the Fourth.

"Stop it, you fool!" cried Orochimaru.

Yondaime quickly jumped into the path of the fireball of doom and thrust his hand at it.

"Rasengan!"

With that, the Fourth begun a contest of power with the Ultimate Dragon Fire technique…

Xi spun around as quick as a flash and raised his sword just in time to block Sagitario's overhead swing. Effortlessly, Xi shoved Sagitario aside and rushed him with such speed that hundreds of afterimages left a tail behind him. Sagitario swung his blade in a forward arc that was impossible for anyone, without special eyes, to follow. Xi simply took to the air with Sagitario following close behind.

The two swords masters would vanish and reappear in different locations every split second as they dueled at impossible to follow speeds! All the while they remained in midair. Their sword skills were about even but it was easy to tell that Xi was the superior fighter. Xi reared back his blade for one mighty swing that smashed Sagitario through the roof of the battle site.

Xi tossed his sword into the air and begun forming seals, not that anyone could see.

"Mugen…" he begun.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu!" interrupted Sagitario.

Xi's body went rigid as the paralysis technique took effect. Sagitario then reappeared above Xi with his sword ready for a thrust to his head. The tables seemed to have been turned…

Yondaime hadn't been able to push the fireball back, but he wasn't budging either. Slowly he held up his free hand for a second Spiraling Sphere. Abruptly Sarutobi activated the ball before the Fourth could use his technique. The technique separated into smaller and more destructive balls and rose overhead. It then hit the Fourth in a sandwich of destruction that blew everyone backwards. In the carnage, Yondaime was nowhere in sight and scorching hot flames were everywhere. Sarutobi, being well learned in Yondaime's fighting style, already knew that the Forth was waiting for a chance to strike…

Sagitario cursed his misfortune. In the wake of Sarutobi's attack, his concentration had been broken allowing Xi to escape. Xi's sword was half buried in a roof tile so the good news was that he was unarmed. Still, Xi's speed and mastery over the Dragon Lord style elemental techniques was plenty dangerous in its' own right.

Sagitario tried to sense Xi's location but his chakra was being carefully suppressed. It wasn't like there was a place to hide either, Xi had pretty much disappeared. Sagitario suddenly sensed a surge of chakra directly behind him!

"Mugen."

"Damn it!" hissed Sagitario while taking to the air.

Xi appeared directly in front of him and slugged him in the face. Xi then took hold of Sagitario's throat with one hand. The ANBU captain winced in pain while mentally cursing his new situation. Xi's eyes were so lifeless, it was scary.

"Yume no Souhi."

The world seemed to spin as Xi's technique took effect. Sagitario blinked and found himself tightly bound in some kind of cloth. Xi released his grip on Sagitario's throat and let him fall for what felt like a full minute before his body was submerged underwater. Sagitario's eyes instantly widened.

"_This is a Genjutsu!_" realized Sagitario immediately before closing his eyes. "_Kai!_"

Upon opening his eyes, he was pleased to find that he wasn't wrapped in that cloth anymore. However, he was still sinking beneath an endless enclosure of water. Sagitario wasn't sure what was going on, but it certainly wasn't good…

Sarutobi risked glancing towards Sagitario to find him in a state of suspended animation with a watery dome around him. Xi was still gripping his throat.

"_That technique! Such a Genjutsu is extremely rare, it can only be dispelled from the outside,_" observed Sarutobi before returning his gaze to Orochimaru. "_I'll have to find a way to distract these two so that I can help him_."

Sarutobi begun forming seals.

"I don't think so!" cried Orochimaru.

Yondaime finally appeared for a snap kick to the Third's face. Sarutobi only pretended to get hit as he spun into an evasive maneuver. The Third completed his spin and made a funnel with his right hand.

"Chou Karyuu Endan!"

Unlike Naruto and Genmaru's version of this attack, Sarutobi's resulted in one huge jet of focused flames. It hit hard at point blank range. Yondaime was sent flying back to smash with a boom into a roof tile. Quickly Sarutobi dashed towards Sagitario and Xi. Xi sensed Sarutobi's approach and aimed his palm at him.

"Suiton, Kairyuuha!"

Out of thin air, a sphere of water gathered in his hand for Elaine's technique! A watery dragon head shot forth to devour Sagitario's savior. The Third paused in mid-charge and clasped his hands together while screaming. Sarutobi's chakra engulfed him as he thrust his own hands forward in a pyramid seal.

"Uchi Kaesu no Jutsu!"

The incoming water dragon seemed to struggle against some kind of force before reversing back onto its' master. The dragon bit into and ripped off the arm that had Sagitario's throat in its' grasp. Xi didn't cry out or even remotely seem to feel any pain, but his eyes narrowed when Sagitario awoke from his Genjutsu. Sarutobi had freed him!

With a growl, Sagitario broke out of the water dome and hopped back to stand next Sarutobi. Yondaime appeared besides Xi and the two groups faced off. All of a sudden, Xi's arm begun to reform until it was as if he had never been harmed.

"This is bad, is there no way to beat them?" asked Sagitario without taking his eyes off of them for a moment.

"That isn't possible. The only way to get rid of those two is to defeat Orochimaru," replied Sarutobi with slightly heavy breathing.

That attack reversing technique he did drained a lot of chakra. Sagitario frowned at the sight.

"Hokage-sama, do you think you'll be able to fight Orochimaru if I distract these two?" asked Sagitario seriously.

"Maybe, but it'll take some time."

"How much time?" asked Sagitario.

"At best, ten minutes."

Sagitario tightened his grip on his sword.

"Go. I'll buy you your ten minutes," vowed Sagitario while advancing forward.

Sarutobi nodded and turned towards Orochimaru.

"I'm counting on you, my friend," said the Third quietly.

"I know."

With that, they charged…

* * *

Naruto caught up to Elaine and Sakura a few minutes after his fight with the Sounds.

"I'm glad you're alright," said Sakura as he fell in line.

"You're not hurt are you?" asked Elaine worriedly.

Naruto grinned.

"Nope, those guys were just a bunch of creampuffs," announced Naruto with a chuckle.

"Well, you've come at the perfect time, kid. Sasuke has stopped moving, we'll be able to catch up to him in about ten minutes," reported Pakkun.

"Great!" said Naruto with a grin.

Elaine grew thoughtful.

"If they've stopped, then Sasuke is probably fighting them right now," surmised the blue haired girl.

Sakura gained a worried frown but didn't say anything. Naruto however grew serious.

"_Hang in there Sasuke, we're coming_…"

* * *

Kankuro gritted his teeth in frustration when a swarm of shuriken pelted his path. Once more, the smirking Uchiha appeared before him.

"Don't run, it's your turn now," said Sasuke.

"Bring it on, brat!" shot back Kankuro with his own smirk.

The two begun surveying each other for weaknesses in their poses. Abruptly, Temari touched down between them.

"Temari! Thank goodness, I thought he had beat you for a moment there," said Kankuro in relief.

"Yeah, but I couldn't stop him at all. Even if we work together, he'll probably beat us," admitted Temari darkly.

Sasuke smiled in amusement at just how right Temari was.

"It's alright, you got him to use some chakra right?" asked Kankuro nervously.

"Yeah but not very much by the looks of it. The techniques he used on me were most likely just miniscule amounts of his max," replied Temari softly.

Kankuro paled before gritting his teeth. Wordlessly he set Gaara down and lunged forward. Kankuro then removed Karasu from his back and placed a hand on its' head.

"Temari, take Gaara and go. I'll try to stall him some more," declared Kankuro determinedly.

"But…!" begun Temari.

"Just go!" shouted Kankuro.

Temari sadly kneeled to pick up Gaara. With one last look at her brother, Temari took off running. Sasuke smirked.

"It looks like all a Sand ninja knows how to do is run," taunted the Uchiha.

"Shut up, you little prick! I'll be your opponent this time!" snapped Kankuro heatedly.

"No. Your opponent is me," droned an unexpected voice.

Sasuke and Kankuro turned towards it to find Aburame Shino standing behind Sasuke. The bug tamer held up a finger and the bug that had been planted on Sasuke flew to land on its' master's finger. Thanks to that bug, he had been able to track Sasuke and sneak pass Naruto and the others!

"What are you doing here?" demanded Sasuke with a touch of annoyance at having a bug planted on him.

"That's irrelevant. Uchiha Sasuke, pursuit Gaara. I will fight with him," declared Shino coolly.

Sasuke smiled and turned around with his hands in his pockets.

"Do what you want, just don't get in my way," warned the Uchiha before vanishing in a flash of speed.

Kankuro and Shino then faced each other determinedly. Kankuro slowly pressed his hands together.

"Kugutsu no Jutsu."

Shino calmly raised his arms as Kankuro unraveled his puppet and attached his chakra threads to it. Bugs begun exiting out of Shino's sleeves and collar.

"As a member of Konoha's Aburame Clan, I will not underestimate the enemy. Please, fight with everything you have," requested Shino.

"Fine!" snapped Kankuro before hurling Karasu forward.

A razor sharp needle extended from Karasu's arm and he thrust it forward. Quickly Shino hopped aside to avoid the attack. He stiffened when the spot he had been standing begun to rot away. The needle was poisonous!

A second needle extended from Karasu's other arm and he thrust that one forward. Shino was forced to dodge four more attacks before hiding in the leaves.

"You're not going to get away!" cried Kankuro while making Karasu give chase.

Shino hurled a pair of kunai at the wooden doll only to see it get replaced by a log. Apparently, it could use ninja techniques as well. Sensing movement below him, Shino took to the air to avoid Karasu's sneak attack. The puppet followed him into the air and opened its' mouth. A couple of poison tipped darts shot towards Shino who, for the most part, was helpless in midair. They struck him directly in the heart and head.

"Score!" said Kankuro with a victorious grin.

The sites where Shino had been hit suddenly erupted into bugs. Shino himself then became a mass of bugs. It had been a clone! Kankuro stiffened when he sensed something approaching him from the side.

"Damn it!" hissed Kankuro while dodging Shino's fist.

Quickly Kankuro leaped to a different tree branch to put distance between them. Immediately he had Karasu face Shino. The puppet detached its' arm revealing a hidden compartment. From it, a black rocket was fired at Shino. The puppet had a freaking rocket launcher in its' arm!

Shino quickly called upon his bugs to create a barrier. The rocket exploded on impact but caused no damage to Shino. However, a thick cloud of poisonous gas erupted from the destroyed missile. Shino tried to cover his face, but he had still breathed in some of the deadly gas. He hopped out of the veil as quickly as he could but the damage had been done. Shino sank to his knees while breathing heavily.

Shino stiffened upon hearing the sound of a blade. Slowly he spun around only to get impaled by Karasu's needle again. Once more, it turned out to be a bug clone. The bugs enveloped Karasu, much to the annoyance of Kankuro. The puppeteer tried to recall his doll, but it's joints had become full of bugs and plain wouldn't move. The bugs then begun to travel along Kankuro's chakra threads with the intent of feasting on his energy.

"Damn him!" growled Kankuro before cutting his threads.

Karasu dropped lifelessly to the floor while the bugs on the threads were wildly flung about. Kankuro then reformed his strings exclusively for Karasu's head. It detached from its' body and shot towards Shino. Another needle extended from the doll's mouth! The head was just about to hit when it came to a complete halt. Kankuro gasped in shock.

"How the heck did he…!?" cried Kankuro before feeling a tickling sensation on his hand.

Kankuro looked to find several bugs crawling around his fingers. They had eaten his chakra! Kankuro then took note of hundreds more of them crawling on his back. With a scream of fright and disgust, Kankuro begun dancing about while frantically brushing them off. This proved very hard to do however since his energy was depleting pretty fast. Weakly, Kankuro sank to his knees allowing many more of the critters to overtake his body.

"You lowered your guard. All this time, the bugs were heading towards the female I planted on your forehead protector. In your haste to attack, you never noticed them until it was too late," explained Shino tiredly.

With that, Kankuro knew no more as the bugs overwhelmed him. With a cough, Shino sank face down due to the poison flowing through him…

* * *

Sagitario rapidly thrust his blade at Yondaime forcing him to take evasive actions. Quickly the Fourth hopped back and formed a seal once an opening had presented itself.

"Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Eighty clones arrived on the scene causing Sagitario to tense while searching with his eyes and senses for the real one. The ANBU captain gave a start and quickly leaped backwards into an array of flips. Xi was kneeling in the spot Sagitario was been standing with his fist smashed through a roof tile. Before Sagitario even came close to landing, Xi rushed him to score a solid high kick to his chest. Sagitario skidded back into the mass of waiting Hokages.

Sagitario went into a roll that ended with him impaling one of the clones with his sword. They moved back a bit as Sagitario spun while swinging to give himself some wiggle room. Sagitario then hurled his sword like a boomerang and begun forming seals.

"Tsurugi Shuriken, Hachi Hana no Mai!"

Sagitario's sword split into eight identical boomerangs in the pattern of a flower. They swords spread out to cut down clones in masses. Sagitario then focused on defending himself while his swords went to work. Xi abruptly appeared besides him and rammed his elbow into his side. Sagitario screamed in pain as he slid sideways towards one of the clones.

"Rasengan!"

That clone hit Sagitario hard, directly in the guts with the Spiraling Sphere, or so it thought. Once more, Sagitario turned into flower petals in his version of a replacement technique. Sagitario reappeared directly in the center of the group and bit his thumb. He quickly kneeled and pressed his hand to the floor.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a large cloud of smoke, hundreds of multicolored mice arrived. Sagitario smirked and held up his hand.

"Go!"

The mice immediately charged at the clones. The Hokage army hurled shuriken at the furry critters in an effort to repel them. However, the moment the stars came in contact with the adorable rodents they would detonate like several barrels of TNT! The same held true for the mice that managed to come in contact with the clones. With Yondaime and his clones distracted by the rodent army, Sagitario focused his attention on Xi.

The ANBU captain held up his hand, merging all eight of his swords back into one again before he took hold of it. Xi calmly formed a seal with his left hand while holding out his right. Amazingly, Xi's sword freed itself from the tile and shot towards its' master's freehand. Xi raised it overhead.

"Mugen."

Sagitario rushed him before he could even attempt a technique. Sagitario attacked with a speedy series of thrusts and swings. Xi effortlessly blocked them all and went into a shaoling spin. Sagitario was hard pressed to avoid and knock aside Xi's lightening fast thrusts. After ducking one, Sagitario swung his sword upward as Xi swung his in an overhead blow. The two warrior's swords were deadlocked in a power struggle.

As they pushed against each other, the tiles they stood on started cracking under the strain of their powers. In flashes of speed, they both took to the air for a high speed aerial duel. Xi was relentless, often attacking five times before Sagitario could find an opening for one sword stroke. Such a high level swords match would've turned any samurai green with envy. Xi vanished and touched down while gazing upwards at the still airborne Sagitario with those emotionless eyes.

Sagitario made use of his speed to appear behind Xi for an overhead swing. Xi left a trail of afterimages just from the simple motion of sidestepping it. Sagitario's sword smashed into a small fissure from the force of that swing. Xi stepped on Sagitario's sword, making it sink deeper into the roof tile. With a strong spin kick, Sagitario was sent flying back unarmed. Xi seemed to glide as he lunged after him for a cleaving attack to his midsection.

Xi cut through nothing more than a cluster of flower petals and wind as Sagitario teleported. Xi spun around to find Sagitario rushing him from behind with his sword in hand. Sagitario attempted to severe Xi's legs but the platinum haired swords master stopped it with a low parry. Sagitario pushed as hard as he could upon contact, forcing Xi off balance. Sagitario seized his opportunity and scored a deep cut on Xi's chest! Sadly, it regenerated just as his arm had done.

Regardless of how pointless it was, Sagitario continued the fight for the Third's sake. Truthfully, fighting with the Legendary Xi and scoring hits that would've killed an ordinary opponent was rather enjoyable. It allowed Sagitario to truly see the results of his hard training with the Dragon Clan.

Sagitario was on fire as he attacked with everything he had. Xi was forced to continuously hop backwards while parrying each attack. Abruptly, Xi vanished in a flash to appear in midair.

"Mugen."

Sagitario smirked and made a seal. The two mice that had climbed onto Xi's clothes during the battle detonated, taking Xi's arms with them! Sagitario then high jumped towards Xi and impaled him with his sword. Xi merely stared blankly at him as Sagitario smiled confidently. So long as he kept Xi off balance, Sagitario could stall him! Sagitario's growing confidence seemed to curse him. Xi suddenly moved forward to hit Sagitario with a head butt! The ANBU captain cried out in pain while seizing his aching face.

"Karyuu Kyaku," said Xi as his feet ignited with scorching hot flames.

Xi speedily scored kick after kick as he constantly reappeared in different locations around Sagitario. Xi finished his flashy combo with a heel drop directly on Sagitario's noggin. Sagitario crashed with a boom straight through the roof to the floor below. Xi's arms reformed and he pulled Sagitario's sword from his stomach before tossing it aside. Xi recalled his own sword and dove into the hole after him.

Not too long after that, Sagitario was sent crashing through a second hole back to the upper level. He landed in a heap on his stomach while trembling in pain. Xi jumped up and landed a few feet away with his sword by his side. Yondaime joined him as well, haven finally destroyed all of Sagitario's exploding mice. This match was finally coming to a close. All that remained was to deliver the finishing blow. Xi gripped his sword as it slowly begun building up electrical energy around the blade.

"Rairyuu Zan."

"STOP!" cried a desperate voice.

Everyone turned towards it to find Genmaru, Domino, Rose and Shikamaru staring at them, the battle for the stadium already won.

"Please! Don't hurt him, Onii-san!"

* * *

Gaara slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Temari felt his movement and came to a stop.

"Gaara, how do you feel?" asked Temari worriedly.

Gaara relieved his arm from her shoulders and kneeled with a wince.

"Where…?" gasped Gaara tiredly.

"We're safe now, please lay back so I can treat you," instructed Temari while producing a medicine bag from her shirt.

Gaara was just in the process of doing just that when he stiffened. With a growl of pain and fear, Gaara stood up.

"Stand aside, Temari," ordered Gaara darkly.

"What!? But you're…"

"Just move!" cried Gaara while smacking her aside. "You're in my way!"

Temari banged her head on a tree and swooned. It was just as well, had she saw the person Gaara was staring at she might've panicked. Sasuke was observing Gaara with deadly seriousness written on his face.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'm going to stop you!" vowed Sasuke.

Gaara glared hatefully at Sasuke and tensed his muscles.

"You who are strong…Uchiha Sasuke. I won't allow you to end my existence. No, I'll destroy you!" cried Gaara.

Sasuke tensed as Gaara's murderous intent jumped to incredible levels. With howls of insanity, Gaara's sand enveloped his flesh. The transformation that took place was bizarre. Gaara's arms became huge and clawed, giant bat like ears grew from his head and his face looked a good deal like an ugly raccoon. A large tail completed the look.

With a roar, the beast lunged at Sasuke. Sasuke took to air, avoiding Gaara's attack. However, it left him vulnerable to the shockwave that followed due to Gaara's increased strength. Sasuke went sailing helplessly through the air. Gaara preyed on that weakness that Sasuke had yet to overcome and hurled dozens of sand blobs at him.

"Suna Shuriken!"

Sasuke screamed in pain as he was pelted repeatedly in the stomach. He smashed with a winded grunt into the base of a tree. Gaara extended his long arm in an effort to crush the Uchiha. Sasuke rolled aside and used his speed to go into hiding so that he could catch his breath.

"What's wrong, Uchiha Sasuke!? Come out and fight me!" cried Gaara loudly.

Sasuke smirked from his hideout.

"_Oh, I'll fight you alright. Just keep talking, big mouth,_" mused the Uchiha while looking at his electrically crackling hand. "_One more shot_."

Once his breathing was mostly under control, Sasuke vanished in a flash of speed. He appeared directly above Gaara and hurled a swarm of kunai at him. They all collided with his body but did little damage to him. Gaara turned towards the source and stretched his arm again. Sasuke took to the tree branch above him and boosted off into Gaara's direction. The monster Gaara countered Sasuke's assault by absorbing and firing the kunai in his body at him.

They hit nothing but a log as Sasuke made use of the replication technique. Sasuke then appeared before Gaara and activated his Sharingan. Gaara glared hatefully at the sight of his foe's trump card. Slowly Sasuke's hands filled with crackling power as he powered up his Duel Mode Chidori. Gaara roared and leaped forward just as Sasuke finished powering up. The Uchiha smirked and vanished in a flash.

Gaara howled in pain as once more he was pierced. This time, his stomach and the direct center of his chest begun gushing forth blood! Gaara sank to his knees weakly and struggled to maintain his consciousness. For the second time, Sasuke had beat him! Sasuke was gasping in pure exhaustion, every last drop of his chakra was gone as a side effect of using his technique twice. His eyes became normal again and he weakly plopped onto his butt.

Sasuke wouldn't have been able to move if he wanted to, let alone fight. Although Gaara was definitely dying from blood lost, he didn't look like he was ready to quit just yet.

"Uchiha Sasuke…I'm going to kill you!" gasped Gaara darkly.

With a scream, he reared back his massive fist and slugged Sasuke hard enough to send him smashing through several dozen tree branches. Sasuke groaned as a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"Die!" roared Gaara while extending his arms once more.

Sasuke screamed in pain as he was smashed directly through the tree he was leaning against. A thick veil of dust kicked up, hiding the damage from view. Gaara was sucking in raspy breaths of air by this point.

When it cleared, Sasuke was barely standing with blood dripping from his right arm. He winced and seized hold of it.

"Not yet! Die!" screamed Gaara before using his sand shuriken again.

Sasuke screamed in complete fear and desperately closed his eyes.

"_Please! Help me!_"

Something slammed into Sasuke at that moment, knocking him out of the way of the attack. Sasuke's eyes snapped open to find Naruto standing protectively in front of him. On either side of him appeared Sakura, Elaine and a brown pug.

"Naruto! You…" begun the Uchiha.

Naruto merely struck the nice guy pose without turning around.

"You can rest now, Sasuke. I'll handle the rest…"

* * *

"Orochimaru, it time I correct the mistake I made all those years ago," declared Sarutobi grimly.

"Heh, a senile old fool like you could never understand what I hoped to accomplish. But don't worry, you won't be alive long enough to see my ambitions come to fruition," promised Orochimaru cruelly.

"Your ambitions are an abomination. You'll never succeed," shot down the Third.

"Enough talk, hurry up and die, old man. Sen'eijashu!"

Orochimaru's arm erupted in a swarm of ferocious snakes towards Sarutobi. One of the serpent bit Sarutobi directly in the neck causing his body to freeze up from its' venom. Orochimaru was just about to yank on the snake to behead the Third when he suddenly turned into muck. The stunned snake tamer then found himself in a chokehold from behind!

Orochimaru's tongue shot out of his mouth like a bullwhip and transformed into a snake. The serpent lunged with snapping jaws for the Third. Sarutobi was forced to hop back and form seals. Orochimaru spun around and used the same shockwave technique he had used against Sasuke in the Forest of Death.

"Doton, Doryuuheki!" cried Sarutobi.

The Third spit up a bit of mud which quickly hardened and grew up into a protective wall of solid stone. The shockwave was barely able to grind away some of Earth Wall's surface. Sarutobi appeared on top of the giant rock and bit his thumb.

"Kuchiyose, Enkoo Enma!"

In a cloud of smoke, a big monkey with snow white fur and green eyes appeared. The ape was dressed in the same outfit as Sarutobi, minus the helmet. The only difference was that he was wearing a tiger fur jacket over it. This was the Enma, the King of Monkeys. Enma looked about and glared upon spying Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru…what a surprise," growled Enma while glaring at Sarutobi over his shoulder. "Idiot, I told you to kill him when you had the chance."

"I plan on it," replied Sarutobi.

Enma snorted.

"Feh, it's too late now," grumbled the annoyed Monkey King.

"Please Enma, I need your help now!" begged the Third.

Enma snorted in his idea of a "Fine, I'll help you" response. Orochimaru begun to panic at that.

"Get him, you fools!" he cried.

Yondaime and Xi turned their attention away from Genmaru and the others and faced the Monkey emotionlessly. Sagitario remained forgotten as they rushed Enma. Haven fought those two before many times in the past, Enma already knew where they would attack from. Quickly, the big monkey jumped straight up and did an uppercut. Yondaime was nailed directly in the face sending him flying. Enma then leaned his head aside, avoiding Xi's nerve targeting kick. Enma took hold of Xi's leg and smashed him face first into the floor. Enma took to the air and struck a pose.

"Henge, Kongonyoi!"

The Monkey King transformed into one really large black staff with gold edges. Sarutobi caught it and assumed a combat ready pose. Orochimaru smirked.

"Heh, lucky. Alright then, let's play!"

Orochimaru pressed his stomach until it was completely caved in. The snake tamer begun making chocking sounds as a snake slithered out of his mouth. From the snake's moth then came a glowing long sword, the sword of Kusanagi! Orochimaru caught it and assumed a battle stance while swallowing his snake again. Sarutobi twirled Enma about and took to the air. The Third's new weapon suddenly grew to incredible lengths in an effort to crush Orochimaru. Orochimaru avoided the attack with a bunch of flips.

Sarutobi landed and twirled his staff gracefully about himself for an attack. Orochimaru blocked the first strike and the follow up blow with his sword. Orochimaru gritted his teeth as Sarutobi further pressed the assault, ending with a low sweep. Orochimaru blocked every attack and took to the air to avoid the sweep. Orochimaru flipped in midair and allowed gravity to seize him for a downward slash. The Third's staff extended once more forcing Orochimaru to spin in midair to avoid it. Once more Sarutobi stayed on him with his huge monkey pole until their weapons were deadlocked. The Third clearly was the better Taijutsu specialist.

Xi and the Fourth interrupted the match and tried to gang up on Sarutobi. Sagitario suddenly appeared in a flash and slashed at Xi, forcing him back. This enabled Sarutobi to avoid the Fourth's attack and knock him away with a solid spin kick to the face. He then glanced at Sagitario, who was standing on wobbly legs. Xi had done quite a number on him from what he could tell. Sagitario sensed his gaze and returned it with a wary smile.

"I promised you ten minutes right, Hokage-sama? I only bought you four, so I can't stop fighting just yet."

Sarutobi smiled and nodded before facing Orochimaru once more. Sagitario stared Xi and Yondaime down for one last stand.

Sarutobi ran down the side of the stone wall as Orochimaru rushed up. The snake tamer tried to behead the Third the moment he got in range. Sarutobi ducked it and swept Orochimaru's legs with Enma. Sarutobi then used Enma like a club to smash Orochimaru into the side of the rocky surface. Sarutobi added to the pain by having Enma extend like a battering ram directly into him.

When Sarutobi recalled his monkey pole, Orochimaru was squashed into an impression of his body. The snake tamer growled in annoyance at how easily the Third was outfighting him. Orochimaru power boosted out of that hole to engage the Third in midair. Sarutobi expertly made use of Enma, preventing Orochimaru from getting too close while forcing him back on the defensive.

The moment they finally landed, Orochimaru begun frantically dancing around Sarutobi's attacks while seeking out an opening. Orochimaru raised his sword overhead to block a overhead smash from Sarutobi. The two fighters were now deadlocked.

"Die, geezer!" bellowed Orochimaru as he struggled.

"You cannot win, Orochimaru. You do not yet understand true strength," grunted Sarutobi.

The mighty warriors pushed against each other for a while before they both broke the lock and flipped backwards at the same time. They eyed each other in a standoff while their energies collided, further destroying the surrounding tiles. The dull clanging of metal on metal during their clash echoed like a siren in their ears. This was truly a Hokage level match.

Orochimaru hastily lunged forward into a high jump. Sadly for him, it set things up for a ninja version of baseball. Orochimaru was sent flying as Sarutobi scored a home run! Orochimaru was just about to smash into the stone but he fused with it instead. Sarutobi warily tried to scout out Orochimaru's location with his senses. This was unnecessary since Orochimaru popped out of the ground in front of Sarutobi for a pile driver attack. Sarutobi leaped safely away but still took a hit from a lone shuriken to his cheek.

The distraction was enough for Orochimaru to score a solid kick to Sarutobi's chest. The Third landed with a grunt on his back. His staff clattered several feet away as it slipped from his hand.

"What's wrong, sensei? Don't tell me that the 'Professor' can't handle it," drawled Orochimaru while laughing like a manic.

A single tear slid down the Third's cheek and his expression became one of fury.

"You fool!" cried the Third while seizing his arms.

Effortlessly, Sarutobi used grappling techniques to break Orochimaru's right leg and propel him aside where he howled in pain. Enma's arm shot forth from the staff and took hold of Orochimaru's neck. Enma squeezed until the sound of a neck breaking was heard. The apparently dead snake tamer melted into muck, it had been a replacement! Orochimaru rose out of the ground and smiled confidently, only to take a hard kick from Sarutobi that sent him flying onto his back. Sarutobi quickly picked up and hurled Enma at Orochimaru while he was catching his breath.

"Now, Enma!" yelled Sarutobi.

"Kongo, Roheki!" cried Enma before splitting into multiple copies of himself.

The staffs all surrounded Orochimaru in the form of a cage. The snake tamer was just about to try cutting his way free when several pairs of hands seized his wrists, legs and throat. His sword dropped harmlessly to the ground after a painful squeeze from Enma. Orochimaru had been captured!

"This is the end, Orochimaru. I'm going to end this match once and for all," declared Sarutobi while forming a seal.

"Curse you!" growled Orochimaru in a raspy voice due to Enma's grip on his throat.

Sarutobi ignored him and turned towards Sagitario's battle…

The ANBU captain was covered in bruises and thin trickles of blood leaked from his mouth. The pain of simply moving was almost unbearable to Sagitario. Still, he stubbornly refused to give in to his opponents. Yondaime appeared behind him and lashed out with a nerve targeting kick. Sagitario ducked under it as quickly as he could and reversed into a chin break kick right into the Fourth's throat. Yondaime flew backwards from the counter but Sagitario was left wide open for a slash to the arm from Xi. Sagitario screamed in pain and pulled off the same kick at Xi in retaliation.

Sagitario was breathing heavily. These two were wearing him down to the point of exhaustion. Xi was gliding back for another slash. Sagitario speedily hurled a swarm of kunai at him. The knives only passed through an afterimage. Sagitario groaned as Yondaime landed a juggernaut kick into his back. The green haired swordsman went into several painful rolls after impact. On trembling limbs he tried to get back up again. He looked up to find Xi standing in front of him.

Sagitario was once more sent flying after a kick to the face from Xi. Xi was in front of him a split second after he took to the air. With a spin kick from the platinum haired warrior, Sagitario slammed hard into the ground again. Yondaime picked him up by his collar and slugged him in the cheek. Sagitario stumbled back a few feet and caught his balance while hunched over. Sagitario's vision was blurring and it was hard to keep a grip on his sword. Xi and Yondaime combined their efforts for one explosive kick to Sagitario's stomach.

Sagitario slammed hard into the stone wall Sarutobi had made and dropped to his hands and knees. It looked like this was the end, Sagitario didn't even have enough chakra left to use a major technique. The only good thing that came out of this duel was that Orochimaru had finally been caught. That was good enough for him. Xi and Sagitario were closing in for the finishing touch when…

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, two Sarutobis leaped down from the top of the wall and pounced upon Xi and Yondaime. Both of them were pinned to the ground. The real Sarutobi turned towards Orochimaru and formed a seal. Just like that, his chakra aura spiked to it's absolute max!

"Shinigami…lend me your power," murmured the Third with downcast eyes.

Xi, Yondaime and Orochimaru all felt their bodies grow rigid and stiff. Whatever Sarutobi had done, had all of them totally paralyzed. Orochimaru's eyes grew both confused and fearful at this unexpected development. Xi and Yondaime abruptly felt the seal on their personalities break in the wake of the Third's technique.

"What happened? I feel like I did something horrible," said Xi while worriedly looking about.

"So you've decided to use it, Sarutobi. I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused you," apologized Yondaime, who instantly recognized the technique and what was going to happen a second time.

The clones pinning them down begun to cry.

"Please forgive me, Xi-sama…Yondaime-sama. There's no other way," said Sarutobi sadly.

Xi looked towards the barely conscious Sagitario with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I think this is the last time I'll be able to say goodbye," said Xi.

Sagitario managed a weak smile and nodded towards Genmaru and the others. Xi looked and smiled at his younger brother, who was trembling with tears running down his cheek.

"Onii-san…" murmured Genmaru.

"Heh, you've gotten stronger, kid. I'm just sorry that you had to see me like this," said Xi fondly.

"It's alright, you weren't yourself right? You didn't have a choice, right?" asked Genmaru before sobbing.

Xi gazed towards the heavens while a lone tear slid down his own cheek. The platinum haired warrior smiled.

"I have a present for you. I wasn't able to give him to you last time because of that man, but I think you're ready for him now," murmured Xi.

Genmaru didn't look up.

"I understand, Onii-san. I'll use him to protect the village just like you did," vowed the trembling Genmaru while clenching his fist.

Tear drops continued to leak from his shadowed eyes.

"Thank you, little brother. Please tell mom and grandfather that I love you all," requested Xi before closing his eyes blissfully. "Shiso Fuin."

Genmaru begun glowing with a strange brightness that was greatest around his stomach. Slowly, a sphere of light exited Xi's body and shot towards Genmaru like a shooting star. It passed through the Flame Field and struck Genmaru dead on. The misty eyed ninja never moved or cried out, he just stood there with his head still bowed.

"Genmaru?" said Domino worriedly with everyone else's thoughts due to how vulnerable he looked.

He didn't say anything…

Tiny gray flames surrounded the Third's body. A ghostly wisp of smoke surrounded Sarutobi before it took the shape of the Death God. Without so much as the sound of his robes, the Shinigami rammed its' clawed hand into Sarutobi's body and tugged until a blue mass of light was extracted. Just as it did with Yondaime, the light assumed the Third's shape and merged with Shinigami's body.

The Shinigami had extra arms extend painfully from the clones stomach to ram into Xi and Yondaime's bodies. Both Xi and Yondaime were smiling as this took place.

"Thank you," they both said as one.

Once their souls had been completely extracted from their bodies, Xi and Yondaime turned into solid stone. Cracks appeared in their exteriors and they crumbled into dust. Hidden within the dust were the deceased forms of Zaku and Kin. Sarutobi grew tearful at the sight.

"Orochimaru…to sacrifice the lives of your own comrades is unforgivable! You're a monster!" said Sarutobi with an enraged growl.

Orochimaru, was too surprised by the sudden death of his summons to respond right away. When he finally did, it was with fearful eyes.

"What Jutsu is this!? What did you do!?" he demanded.

"This is a Jutsu that you would never know. This Jutsu belongs to the Fourth Hokage himself. Now, I'm going to use the technique that defeated the Nine Tailed Fox to put and end to this once and for all!" replied Sarutobi determinedly.

Once more, Shinigami rammed its' hand into the enemy's body. Orochimaru gasped, whatever the old man was doing felt as cold as ice. Desperately, Orochimaru had his sword levitate and attack Sarutobi. The Third winced in pain, but he refused to yield to Orochimaru's will. Still, blood leaked from Sarutobi's mouth as he struggled to pull out Orochimaru's soul. The problem was that he had used up too much chakra trying to free Sagitario. The Sea King Wave had been more difficult to rebound back on Xi than Sarutobi had expected.

"Don't waste my time! Release me at once, old man!" demanded Orochimaru with an evil sneer.

Sarutobi retaliated to that by giving Orochimaru's soul a good tug. The snake tamer cried out in alarm as that feeling overtook him again…

* * *

Naruto and the others took in Gaara's new look with surprised expressions. The former redhead looked like a chipmunk after drinking a can of radioactive waste. It was rather unnerving to say the least. Gaara glared hatefully at Naruto for interfering.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" asked Sakura when the Uchiha fell to his butt again.

Elaine kneeled besides the Uchiha to examine him.

"He's a bit battered, but there's no serious damage," reported Elaine after a moment.

Everyone then faced Gaara, who never removed his eyes from Naruto's.

"Why…why are you protecting him!? What the hell is he to you!?" demanded Gaara angrily.

"I'm protecting him because he's my friend! Try to lay another finger on him and I swear I'll kill you!" shouted Naruto seriously.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. Naruto viewed him as a friend! Gaara begun laughing at that.

"Fool," said the Sand coldly.

With that, Gaara roared and rushed Naruto in a blind rage. Naruto coiled his legs and boosted off as hard as he could towards Gaara. Naruto nailed Gaara with haymaker while Gaara hit Naruto with his tail. They both were sent flying in opposite directions. Gaara stretched his arms and took hold of some trees to stop himself. Just before Naruto would've smashed into a tree from the blow, he used the aerial skip to rush Gaara once more.

Gaara groaned when Naruto reappeared to show that he had sandwiched Gaara's head between his elbow and knee. The Sand was sent flying a second time as Naruto spun into a juggernaut kick directly to his face. The blond lunged after him to continue his assault.

Naruto plowed into Gaara via a tackle, sending them both sailing into the air. Naruto rapidly used the aerial skip repeatedly to carry them both higher up. Once they were exactly one hundred feet high, Naruto shoved Gaara upward and spun into a kangaroo stomp. Gaara screamed in both rage and fear due to his new predicament. The Sand was vulnerable to a major thrashing now!

"Get him, Naruto!" cried Elaine and Sakura in unison.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A second Naruto appeared besides him. The two Narutos nodded to each other before the real Naruto begun forming never before seen seals. The hidden seals of the Dragon Clan!

"Ryuuoh Futon, Kazeryu no Ginken!"

Naruto crossed his arms in front of himself and closed his eyes in concentration. Wind swirled around Naruto and his aura instantly became visible. The aura condensed and surrounded both of Naruto's arms with the same brightness he displayed during his fight with Kiba. Naruto moved both hands in front of himself as if he were gripping something. The energy elongated and assumed the form of a blade. This was his ultimate technique. Silver Sword of the Wind Dragon!

"Let's go!" cried Naruto.

His clone took hold of his legs and begun to spin to gather momentum.

"Zan Taiatari!" cried the Narutos before the clone let the real one fly.

Naruto added to his speed with the aerial skip. Less than a millisecond later, Naruto reappeared behind Gaara in a pose suggesting that he had already swung his blade. Gaara howled in pain as multiple cuts appeared on every square inch of his body. Naruto vanished again and reappeared directly above Gaara with his sword already in motion for a overhead swing. Gaara took the smack directly on his noggin that sent him plummeting to the earth while rapidly spinning in a giant twister!

The world shook from the force of Gaara's landing and very nearly dislodged everyone from the tree they were perched in. Sasuke's eyes grew wide in total shock.

"This is Naruto!?" exclaimed the Uchiha.

Sakura and Elaine were too impressed to comment on that. Naruto's sword disappeared after that since its' main purpose was done. The sword was intended to create a tornado of wind that would slice the foe to ribbons. The overall destructive power of the twister would increase with each cut landed prior to using the twister making it an ideal weapon for the speedy Naruto!

Naruto touched down in front of his friends and begun breathing heavily. The attack had drained a lot of his chakra. Gaara himself was in a extremely big crater, very much unconscious. Sadly, that was when the trouble started.

Like a member of the undead, Gaara rose to his feet and roared. He then begun rapidly growing forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the dust that was kicked up. When it cleared, a massive Tanuki became visible. Gaara was dangling limply from the creature's forehead.

"What in the world?!" gasped Elaine.

"What the heck is that thing?" added Naruto with everyone's exact thoughts.

Temari had woken up by this point and gasped fearfully at the sight of Gaara's complete form. The massive beast smirked and started laughing and dancing like a party animal.

"**Yahoo! I'm finally out here!**" cheered the beast in everyone's mind.

Apparently, it wasn't capable of speech. The creature lowered its' gaze to the group and aimed his paw at them. Huge walls of sand begun to close in on them from all directions! Everyone braced themselves, except for Naruto. With a yell, Naruto's chakra synced with the Kyuubi's granting him all the power he needed. Naruto quickly moved away from his friends, bit his thumb and kneeled.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a massive cloud of smoke, Gamabunta arrived with Naruto standing atop his head. Naruto glared at the Shukaku determinedly as it canceled out the sand technique it had attempted.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" declared Naruto darkly.

"What the!? Oh, it's you again," grumbled Gamabunta. "What do you need, kid?"

"Boss, this will be our first fight together. Will you help me beat that guy?" asked Naruto seriously.

Gamabunta shot a glance at the Raccoon creature and sighed.

"You've got to be kidding. How'd you get into a row with this guy?" asked Gamabunta.

"It's a long story, but I'll fill you in later. For now, let's get him!"

"Yeah fine, kid. I don't have anything better to do anyway," replied Gamabunta while drawing one of his blades.

With that, Gamabunta hopped forward to cut through the arm of the Shukaku. It growled in annoyance at the lost of its' right arm. Gamabunta however, had been forced to let go of the sword due to how dense the creature's body had been. Still, the Toad King's feat had been rather impressive. The Shukaku squealed and pointed at Gamabunta.

"**I want to kill you guys so badly, I can't stand it! Take this!**" cried the Tanuki. "**Futon, Renkudan!**"

The Shukaku fired a large ball of compressed air and sonic from its' mouth. Gamabunta quickly took to the air to avoid it. The Toad King clasped his webbed forelegs together.

"Suiton, Teppodama!"

Gamabunta countered in the same manner with a ball of water. The Shukaku fired his shot again causing them to collide. The balls exploded into a rain of water over the area. Everyone took cover save for Elaine, who was grinning at her good fortune.

"Stay here guys! I'm going to help Naruto!" declared Elaine while forming seals.

Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened in recognition.

"Are you going to…?" begun Sakura.

Elaine just grinned and winked at her comrades.

"Suiton, Kairyuuha!"

At a much faster pace than before, thanks to Elaine's training, the colossal Water Dragon was formed from the rain water. It was still draining to Elaine, but not nearly as much after all this time. The dragon roared its' challenge to the Shukaku. Naruto grinned at the sight of the beast.

"Awesome, Elaine!"

Angrily, the Shukaku begun rapidly firing ball after ball of wind. Gamabunta blocked two of the three shots while Elaine's dragon got the third one. The dragon then roared before launching a torrent of water from its' mouth. This technique effectively dissolved the Shukaku's other arm into a mess of wet sand. The Raccoon demon couldn't fight now!

"**Aw god damn! You guys cheated!**" wailed the Shukaku angrily.

Sakura and Elaine begun cheering at the way the fight was going. Sasuke's eyes remained locked onto Naruto however…

"Let's finish him off, boss!" cried Naruto with a victorious grin.

"Right! Teppodama!"

Gamabunta launched another water ball that the Shukaku quickly dodged. It howled in pain as its' tail was dissolved by the Water Dragon. The odds were completely against it when it came to fighting two foes at once. Gamabunta landed in front of it and took hold of the Tanuki's shoulders.

"Now, kid! Hit that guy to wake him up!" ordered Gamabunta.

"You got it!" replied Naruto while tensing for a pounce.

The Shukaku jerked out of Gamabunta's grasp causing both him and Naruto to lose their balance. Gamabunta quickly hopped away just in case the Shukaku wasn't as helpless as it appeared.

"Come on, Boss! Try to keep a good grip on him this time!" complained Naruto.

"It's not that easy! I don't exactly have claws you know!" shot back Gamabunta. "We'll have to transform into something that does!"

"Alright, go for it!" consented Naruto.

"Well…I'm not good with transformations," admitted the Frog King sheepishly.

Naruto fell over.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm afraid not, but it's alright. You form the seals and think of something with fangs and claws for a combined transformation," instructed Gamabunta. "Hurry while that dragon is distracting it!"

Gamabunta took a mighty hop forward. Naruto grinned, he had just the form in mind.

"Henge!"

The resulting cloud of smoke completed hid Gamabunta from view. Immediately following it came an earsplitting roar. Before the results of Naruto's transformation became visible, a jet of flame shot towards the startled Shukaku. It hopped aside to avoid it, but ended up getting soaked by Elaine's water dragon from behind. Most of its' backside was falling off now making it really hard to move.

A pair of large wings sprouted from the cloud, that still hadn't cleared yet, and flapped. Gamabunta rose out of the smoke in the form of the same dragon statue that had been in sector B of the Dragon Clan's quarters. But this particular dragon was very much alive and many times bigger! It's body was a brilliant gold that was blinding in the sun's light.

It fired another jet of flame that hit the Shukaku dead on. It squealed much like a person with ants in their pants would. Gama Dragon then took a deep breath before firing a stream of plasma as well. The Shukaku was knocked down into a sitting position, completely stunned by the electrical energy wrapped around its' body. Naruto added to the mix from somewhere inside the transformed Toad King.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A shadow clone of the mighty beast appeared and flew straight up into the air, the sun eventually hiding its' ascension from view. The real Gamabunta rushed the Raccoon thing just as Elaine's water dragon eliminated its' right leg. Off balance, it was completely knocked down when Gamabunta rammed into him. The shadow clone finished the combo by dive bombing headlong into the thing's belly while firing a blast of plasma at the same time.

The Shukaku made quite a dramatic show of screaming like a dying person in a horror flick. The clone vanished in a cloud of smoke while the real Gamabunta moved to pin the hapless Tanuki down.

"Okay kid, you're on!" grunted Gamabunta before transforming back into his Froggy self.

Naruto leaped out of the resulting smoke cloud at that.

"Raise and shine, bastard!" cried Naruto before slugging Gaara in the cheek with a solid kick.

Gaara howled in pain and spat up a mouthful of blood. Slowly he opened his eyes and blearily gazed at Naruto. His eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

"**Damn it! I just got out here!**" squealed the Shukaku as his eyes grew dimmer.

Gaara winced in pain from the injuries Sasuke had inflicted. His chakra had already hit rock bottom and there was no chance of fighting any of them in his current state. Cracks appeared in the Shukaku and it begun to crumble away taking Gaara with it. Naruto dove after him as the redhead weakly fell. Gaara's eyes widened in fear at the sight of Naruto giving chase.

"Sabaku Kyuu!" screamed Gaara with what little energy he had left.

The falling sand begun to moved towards Naruto for the final blow. Gamabunta interfered with that move by swatting the sand away with his tongue. Naruto grinned and sped up his freefall for one last haymaker to Gaara's chin.

Gaara landed on his back with a grunt while Naruto touched down exhaustedly on his hands and knees. Everyone cheered save for the stunned Sasuke. Slowly, Naruto stood up to his full height with shadows over his eyes.

"You…" Naruto took a step forward.

"STAY AWAY!" screamed Gaara at the sight.

Naruto continued to slowly advance. He stopped when he was just four steps away and looked up with a expression of sadness and pain.

"The pain of being alone, it's unbearable isn't it? Your eyes…they're just like how mine were. You're still trying to get out of that lonely hell right?" said Naruto quietly. "I had a chance to become like you, but I didn't. My precious people, they saved me from that. So no matter what, I won't let you hurt any of them!"

Gaara trembled in fear and sadness.

"Why are you doing this for them? Why?" asked Gaara in a choked whisper.

"Because, they accepted me when nobody else would. They mean the world to me," replied Naruto while a single tear slid down his cheek. "I love them."

Gaara seemed to inflate after Naruto say that. Whatever remained of his feeble will to fight was now completely gone. His gaze rose to the clouds that he never really saw. Naruto had won. Elaine and the others joined Naruto on either side of him. Likewise, Temari and a really exhausted looking Kankuro moved to Gaara's side. The two groups didn't speak, there was no need.

"Temari…Kankuro, it's over. Let's go home," requested Gaara absently.

Without a word, the two groups parted ways…

* * *

Sarutobi looked deadly pale. He had been trying to pull out Orochimaru's soul for more than five minutes and the furthest he had gotten was the removal of his arms. This gave the Third an idea.

"Looks like I don't have enough strength left to completely remove your soul. So I shall deliver an alternate punishment instead," declared Sarutobi before steeling himself for one last effort.

During the struggle, Orochimaru had been able to see the Shinigami in person. The sight had terrified him and further strengthened his drive not to lose to the old man. That's why he couldn't understand where Sarutobi's sudden power was coming from when he was clearly out of chakra. Orochimaru gritted his teeth as his sprit arms were pulled and held tight.

Shinigami seized the handle of the knife in its' mouth and raised it up. Orochimaru screamed as his sprit arms were cut off and sealed within the Third.

"Shiki Fuin!"

Orochimaru continued screaming as his arms turned to stone and dangled limply by his sides. Its' job done, Shinigami excitedly produced Sarutobi's soul from its' body and cut through the sprit cord with his knife. Shinigami opened its' massive mouth and downed the soul in a single swallow.

"There. Your arms are useless to you now and without them, you will never again form another seal. Ninjutsu is now beyond your grasp," announced Sarutobi victoriously.

"You feeble old man! Give me back my arms!" screamed Orochimaru angrily.

"My only regret is that we couldn't die together," murmured the Third with a smile.

That smile stayed on his face even as he fell. His non-seeing eyes closed for the last time and still Orochimaru continued to yell at him. Shinigami crossed its' arms and slowly vanished from sight. Orochimaru's arms gave a extremely painful throb, causing him to scream.

"M-my arms…it feels like they're on fire!"

"Orochimaru-sama!" cried one of the guys in the Flame Field.

Orochimaru glared hatefully at Sarutobi's peaceful looking corpse. Even in death, the Third managed to seem like a great person. One would almost think that he was just sleeping. Sadly, everyone present knew the horrible truth and begun to grieve the loss of their great leader.

"Damn it all! Release the Kekkai, we're pulling out!" snapped Orochimaru to his followers.

"Sir!" cried the four before removing the Flame Field.

They quickly rushed to Orochimaru's side and took hold of his useless limbs. Once ready, they took to the sky.

"Oh no you don't! You won't escape!" cried the remaining two ANBU.

They were about to leap after the retreating Sounds when suddenly, an enormous power surge shot forth. The source of this energy was Genmaru! Genmaru was still trembling with downcast eyes, but he was surrounded by an aura that was five times bigger than his regular maximum! Without a word, Genmaru vanished with speed that nobody could ever hope to follow.

The guy with four arms was doubled over with white eyes when Genmaru reappeared with his fist buried in his stomach. Genmaru looked up, revealing his normal eyes to be glowing with multiple lights. Orochimaru was scared senseless while everyone else watched this in amazed silence. Genmaru tossed the guy he hit towards the redhead girl, who deftly caught him. Genmaru was about to aerial skip them for further damage but the five Sounds vanished in swirls of wind and sonic. Genmaru screamed in rage while his aura wildly swirled about. He had lost his brother again all because of Orochimaru! This gave way to a blind rage!

"Amazing! That the power that was sealed within him!?" exclaimed Gai as his mind was overwhelmed by pressure.

"Yeah. Genmaru was become the container for it," replied Kakashi before glaring at the ANBU/spy. "But we have more pressing matters at hand."

He, Gai and Genma all glared at the spy and Baki, who was standing next to him.

"You're right, you shouldn't become so distracted during a fight," commented the ANBU quietly.

"And what about you? Did you only come here to watch…Kabuto?" asked Kakashi darkly.

The spy removed his ANBU mask, revealing that it was indeed none other than Kabuto.

"Nicely done. Did you figure it out by yourself, Kakashi?" taunted Kabuto with that calculating smirk in place.

Baki glanced at Kabuto out the corner of his eye.

"What should we do now?" he asked.

"Sadly, we'll have to retreat for now," replied Kabuto coolly.

"Feh, you plan on running away from me again?" taunted Kakashi while advancing forward for battle.

"Yes, for the moment. Besides, if I waste my time with you now you'll just copy my moves right, Senpai? Then again, you don't seem to be able to use that eye as well as an Uchiha can."

Kakashi trembled in fury. This little prick was seriously getting on his nerves.

Kabuto smirked and formed a seal.

"Later."

He and Baki vanished in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi clenched his fist while thinking of all the unpleasant things he wanted to do to that twerp. Wordlessly, he and the others moved to check on the Third…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo everybody! It's Aninene the Legendary Fox! What a chapter this turned out to be, my brain went into overdrive with ideas every ten seconds! It finally happened, the arrival of Genmaru's big brother! As you saw, he was incredibly powerful. So you guys are probably wondering, "How the heck did someone like him die" right? XD Orochimaru is such a cheater, rather than fight fair and square he has to go and summon super ninjas! So to switch things up a bit, Sagitario got to help out and finally reveal some of his techniques. :)

Before I take up all the author note limit rambling on about that match lets answer some reviews.

Digi fan: Yay, I'm glad you liked it! Two months of hard training resulted in some spectacular fighting ne:D There's going to be a lot more too, you won't want to miss it! XD

jbalman: Yahoo, it felt great hearing that you loved that chapter! A rough estimate of when the pairing will start to kick in is in about four more chapters. I'm getting excited just thinking about it! XD The ice dragon was really fun to write, most of the time the early dragons of the fic were made strictly out of things like water and wind. This time however, we got to see a real lived baby dragon!

CodeKyuubi: LOL busted again. You know, I could use a second editor if you're interested. Lola just informed me today that she skims the chapters due to how long they are and doesn't always catch mistakes. (sweat drop) Kusho is the name of a technique that Neji does to push enemies away with chakra from his palms.

zerodragon: Yeah, I can't stop grinning. I'm super happy that you enjoyed that chapter. :D Honestly, I can't really tell at this point who the strongest fighter is myself. All of them can kind of check each other making every fight an any man battle. Like rock, paper scissors if you will. Lol you're absolutely right, Gaara is so far behind now that it would've been merciful for Genmaru to beat him when he had the chance. XD Their pendants are going to play a major role later on, they both do a lot more than just glow and alter the user's techniques. :)

cooltony101neo: My productivity procedure goes a bit like this. After I submit a chapter, I normally take two days off to relax gather my thoughts and reward myself with a good video game. After that, it only takes me two days to write a chapter. One day to get more than half done, second day to finish it and do part of the next chapter. I then give it to Lola to look at for one or two days. From there, I answer the reviews and submit it the next day after correcting the errors Lola pointed out. Total time is five to six days per chapter. :) Gaara was too badly hurt by Sasuke for them to really go at it at full strength, but Naruto did put the whammy on him during their brief struggle. XD A hint, they have a good chance of fighting again in the near future. This time, at one hundred percent. :)

Darcaine: Alright! I'm glad you like it and thank you very much for the added luck:D It was hard at times to stay within the frame at first. Were it not for my notes, the accuracy might've been a little off. (sweat drop) I've read your fic during my break period and I liked what I was seeing. Young Naruto and "Kain" were amazingly powerful for their age. :D

shikamaru the nerd: Heh, yep. I figured that since the clan added to the ninja count that were doing missions why not increase the village's income along with it. The results, a shiny new machinegun added to the watch tower. There will be other little changes like this around the village. For fun, try to find all of them. XD

shankstar89: I won't spoil it, but Naruto will gain a new and very useful ability from his pendant later on. I think you'll love it once I'm ready to reveal what it is. :) I'm happy that you're enjoying it so far! I feel such a strong sense of accomplishment. :D

Here's the highlights of this chapter. Genmaru cries for the first time. Sagitario was beaten to within an inch of his life during his first real battle. Since it's too troublesome to alter it at this point, the Karyuu Endan has been given two styles of use. Sasuke has yet to release Devil again unlike last time. Genmaru has inherited an incredible power from Xi. Naruto has finally revealed his Wind Element technique, one of two hundred Dragon Lord techniques used by the clan. Lastly, Gaara was nearly killed again! XD There's going to be more fun times in upcoming chapters. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment. It'll be a blast before Konoha's road to recovery :)

To Aninene's Rank House!

Naruto - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using limit break against Gaara

Naruto - B Minus Rank when synched with the Kyuubi

Naruto - C Plus Rank when using Wind Sword

Sasuke - C Minus Rank with a focus gauge of 0/100 after using limit break against Gaara

Sasuke - C Rank using Sharingan

Sasuke - E Rank as side effect of using Double Chidori twice

Sakura - D Rank

Genmaru - C Plus Rank

Genmaru - B Rank spontaneous release of enormous power after receiving Xi's gift

Domino - C Rank

Elaine - C Rank

Rose - C Rank

Shino - C Minus Rank

Kakashi - B Plus

Gai - B Plus

Sagitario - A Plus Rank

Sarutobi - Between A Plus and S Rank due to old age

Orochimaru - A Plus Rank

Xi - S Rank

Yondaime - S Rank

Gaara - C Rank due to injuries inflicted from Sasuke earlier

Gaara - B Minus Rank in partial transformed state

Gaara - C Minus Rank in partial transformed state after Sasuke nails him again

Gaara - A Rank after fully transforming into Ichibi Tanuki

Kankuro - C Minus Rank

Temari - C Rank

A quick fun note for you guys. I already have a name in mind for Elaine's Ice Dragon, but I want you guys to submit names that you might like her to be called. Lola and I will pick out the best name from the ones you submit and give the lucky guy or gal full credit for it if it sounds better than what I came up with. Happy thinking time!! XD


	16. His and Her Circumstances! Naruto

**His and Her Circumstances!**

**Bandits and Spiraling Spheres!**

A week had passed since the death of Sarutobi. His loss had hit the village hard and for many nights the sound of sobbing and grieving could be heard throughout the area. During his funeral, the very sky itself mourned the lost of such a great man with rain. Sarutobi died that day, as a true hero that was loved and missed by all. Still, life went on and the village folks bustled with energy as they repaired the scars of war. Every single person was trying their hardest to restore Konoha to its former glory.

Naruto had become further motivated to become stronger and trained with more passion than ever. The flames of the future Hokage was burning bright with the legacy of Sandaime as its' fuel. Naruto kneeled and breathed heavily from his afternoon sparing session with his shadow clones. He smiled to himself, knowing that he had gotten a little stronger because of it.

"Guess I'll take a walk around town and see how the repairs are going," decided Naruto once he caught his breath.

With that plan in mind, Naruto left his makeshift training area with the western section of town as his destination…

During the walk, Naruto spotted Elaine bowing her leave from the home of an elderly lady who's home she was helping to repair. Most of the Dragon Clan were doing similar tasks around town, so repairs were moving along swiftly. Naruto smiled and waved while calling out to her. Elaine returned the gesture with a cheerful smile in place.

"Good evening, Naruto," greeted Elaine once Naruto approached her. "Did you just finish your training for the day?"

"Yep! I was just on my way to see if anyone needed a hand in the western area. They say that the damage from that giant snake is greatest over there," replied Naruto.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad when we got back," agreed Elaine. "I'm just glad that nobody got hurt too badly during the attack. It's still hard to believe that it all happened just last week."

"Yeah," added Naruto quietly. "How's Sagitario-sensei?"

"He's feeling better, but he'll have to stay in the hospital for at least two more weeks," replied Elaine.

"I see," said Naruto in that same quiet tone.

The friends shared a moment of silence for the lives that were taken in battle. It all came back to one person. That Orochimaru had stepped way pass the line. Naruto, along with everyone else in the village, would never forgive him for what he had done.

"Elaine…do you think things would've turned out differently if we had stayed and fought with everyone else?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto…" begun Elaine sadly.

"It's a stupid question, I know. I'm glad we rescued Sasuke, but I get the feeling that if we had stayed then maybe the Third wouldn't have died," added Naruto hastily.

"I don't think it's a stupid question at all, Naruto," reassured Elaine before shifting her gaze to the Hokage monument with a smile in place. "Everyone is working hard in honor of Hokage-sama. So I want to work hard and do what I can too. You too, right Naruto?" asked Elaine with a warm smile in his direction.

Naruto flushed. Elaine was just so beautiful when she smiled. It had the effect of instantly cheering Naruto up a bit.

"Yeah! I want to do my best and become stronger so that I can protect everyone! I never want to see someone important to me die again," replied Naruto with a kindly smile.

"Great!" said Elaine happily.

They stood like that for a while. Just taking pleasure in each other's company and smiles.

"_**Well well, Kodo. You certainly seem to have a way with ladies. So are you just going to stare or are you going to make a move?**_" teased the Kyuubi.

"_Shut up!_" snapped Naruto with a blush.

"_**Hah, this is priceless! You LIKE her!!**_" cried the Kyuubi with the exact truth. "_**Come on, you got to ask her out!**_"

Naruto seriously wanted to hit the 'dumb fox.' Still, the Kyuubi's words had struck a cord. Just as the Kitsune said, Naruto truly did like Elaine. It was just some unknown fear that was holding him back. He could already feel his face growing hot as he considered a date with one of his closest friends.

"_**What are you waiting for? Come on! Do it, do it, do it…**_" chanted the King of Bijuu over and over again like an annoying kid.

"_Alright already! Just give me a moment to think!_" requested Naruto.

The fox kept chanting, much to his annoyance. Naruto only hesitated for a moment, before voicing his thoughts.

"Um, Elaine. There's a great pub nearby so uh…" Naruto flushed as Elaine's eyes widened in surprise. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

For a few moments, nothing but the laughter of the Kyuubi could be heard. Finally, Elaine blushed and smiled shyly.

"Yes. I would love to have dinner with you, Naruto," replied Elaine in as composed at manner as she could, though her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest.

"R-really?!" asked Naruto excitedly.

"Yes," repeated Elaine with an even deeper flush.

"_**Bam, who's the love doctor now huh?! You owe me big, kid!**_"

Naruto felt like dancing. Things were really looking up…

* * *

Jiraiya was laughing like a mad man as he peeked through his telescope. Once more, he was engaging in his absolute favorite activity. This time, a trio of ladies relaxing in a sauna hut were the victims.

"Oh oh, very nice very nice! The women in Konoha are so fluffy and…!" begun a giggling Jiraiya.

A loud ahem, caused the perverted hermit to freeze.

"Still doing foolish things I see," grumbled an old man.

"You truly are a lost cause," added an elderly lady.

Jiraiya laughed and turned around casually.

"I can't help it, it's my job. So what do you want, Homura and Koharu-sensei?" asked Jiraiya.

Koharu was a plain old lady that looked a bit Chinese. She was wearing a gray cloak over a tan vest. A white shawl completed the look.

Homura looked plain serious all the time. He wore a brown jacket over a blue vest and had green glasses. A white mantle completed his look.

"I should think that it's obvious," replied Homura. "The Sand village has informed us that they were ordered to betray us by Orochimaru, who had assassinated and took the identity of the Kazekage. They weren't aware of his involvement and have offered a full apology to Konoha."

"For now, the committee of affairs have accepted their apology and no actions will be taken against Sunagakure. Sadly, Konohagakure has lost a lot of power from the attack. So, the village has set up a second committee of the strongest people in Konoha. Tanaka of the Dragon Clan is in charge of it," concluded Koharu.

"Okay, and you're telling me this why?" asked Jiraiya with a frown.

"We need to appoint a Fifth Hokage immediately. You have been chosen to fill the position," answered Homura briskly.

Jiraiya smirked and turned around.

"No thanks, ask someone else," shot down the Toad Sage.

"Come now, as one of the Legendary Sannin, nobody else is better suited. Besides, none of the Dragon Clan members wanted to accept the job," hinted Koharu.

Jiraiya turned back around and folded his arms.

"It's not my problem besides, there is one other person you can ask."

Koharu and Homura shared a glance of sudden realization.

"Tsunade," concluded the Toad Hermit with a knowing smile…

* * *

The pub Naruto had chosen was the same one Yondaime had taken him to during his trip to the past. For the most part, it looked largely the same. The only major difference was that now the chef was preparing the meals directly in front of the consumers. If anything, this place had grown even more popular over the past thirteen years.

Naruto figured this to be a better place for a first date than Ichiraku, even though he loved his ramen. He and Elaine were guided to a vacant booth by one of the hostesses. Naruto wanted to sit across from Elaine at first so as not to seem forward, but the jumbo sized Kitsune kept pestering him to sit next to Elaine until he gave in. Both were blushing profusely as they could only imagine what the others would say if they saw them together like this. Domino and Kakashi would tease them to no end.

Naruto started off the conversation while they were waiting for the chef to finish up at another table.

"Thanks for joining me, Elaine," said Naruto cheerfully.

"Yes. I wasn't expecting it at all so thank you very much for inviting me, Naruto," replied Elaine gratefully. "I've passed this place a lot but this is the first time I've been inside."

"Really? A friend of mine took me here awhile ago. I'm not sure how the food is though," commented Naruto.

This was true since he only had a glass of orange juice when he came here with the Fourth. But judging by the wonderful smells in the air, everything was sure to taste great. Elaine picked up a menu and opened it between them.

"Lets look at this together," she suggested.

"Yeah, okay," agreed Naruto.

Of course, to share the menu they had to slide a little closer together. Naruto could smell the enchanting scents of Elaine's flowery shampoo. It was difficult to resist the desire to gaze into Elaine's eyes. With some effort, he focused on the menu.

Elaine underwent a similar bout of sudden interests in her date. Naruto smelled of fresh air and trees, most likely due to his training area. This was relaxing to Elaine and made it difficult not to want to lean against Naruto's shoulder. The waitresses were watching them with dreamy smiles. Even the chef took note of their developing feelings for each other. It was just so obvious and impossible to miss.

The menu consisted of mainly western style meals that were considered delicacies in these parts. Eventually they both settled on some type of pie called pizza. The chef had finished by this point and came over to get started on their order. She was humming a catchy melody the whole time that sounded very beautiful as well. The tune sounded a lot like "Eyes on Me."

Elaine moved in tune to the song with a sad smile on her face. She was fingering her pendant absently.

"What's wrong, Elaine?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Nothing, it's just that that song reminds me of my mother. She used to sings songs like that too, when I was little," replied Elaine fondly. "I haven't seen her since I was four. That was around the time that I joined the Dragon Clan."

Naruto's curiosity tripled, but there was no polite way to ask Elaine to talk about her family without seeming to pry. Fortunately, Elaine wanted to share her tale with Naruto and continued speaking.

"It's been a long time, but I used to live far to the north. That region hasn't even been mapped yet, but everyone who lived there called it…Kyokko no Kuni."

"Aurora Country?" echoed Naruto.

"Yes," confirmed Elaine with a nod. "Due to the natural Aurora around the area that's almost constantly visible."

"Wow, what's it like? I've never seen an Aurora before," admitted Naruto with an intrigued expression.

"I think you would like it, Naruto. It looks a lot like a rainbow, except it trials through the sky like a ribbon. It's very beautiful," said Elaine with a faraway look, due to her reminiscing.

"I'd like to see it someday, with you," admitted Naruto with a genuine smile.

Elaine smiled with rosy cheeks.

"I'd like that too, Naruto."

Their eyes met and for the longest neither could look away. They didn't know how long they sat like that, time had lost its meaning at the moment. They were gently roused from whatever they were thinking about by a soft 'ahem' from the chef. She smiled at them both kindly and knowingly while gesturing to their meal. The sight made both of them flush even more.

The pizza looked great and extremely thick to ensure that both parties would be full. There was plenty of excellent toppings such as green peppers, pepperoni, olives and many other things. A small bowl of fried tomatoes completed the meal. The thing that was making them flush however, was the fact that the pizza had been cut into the shape of a heart.

"_Geez, was it that obvious?_" thought Naruto in mild embarrassment.

"_**Heh, even a squirrel could tell, kodo. Don't forget, you owe me big time! I'll find something for you to do, count on it. In the meantime, enjoy your date, kid.**_"

Naruto and Elaine glanced at each other and broke out laughing. It was undeniable now, the fact that the world knew made it seem all the more amusing. The question was, now that they knew how each felt about the other, what came next? Both were toying with the idea of being a couple, but it didn't seem like the right time just yet.

"The pizza looks good," observed Naruto with a laugh.

"Yeah, it's too bad that we're going to eat it. It looks so pretty," agreed Elaine with a giggle of her own.

They both shared one more happy smile before clapping their hands.

"Itadakimasu!"

* * *

Anko sat besides Sagitario's hospital bed and gently caressed his cheek. The ANBU captain was in pretty bad shape. Bandages littered his face and wrappings covered his arms. He still had an occasional bruise here and there as well. Despise all this, Sagitario was alert and smiling fondly at Anko.

"It wasn't that bad," said Sagitario for the seventh time while Anko scolded him for fighting two high level opponents by himself.

"Still, look at what happened to you! You could barely walk by the time the medical team got there! Can you imagine how worried I was?" fussed Anko.

Sagitario laughed, much to Anko's irritation. But she knew how silly she sounded and couldn't help but laugh with him. He sure made it hard to be mad at him for long.

Sagitario seized one of the roses on his bedside table and tucked it into Anko's hair. A simple action that pleased her to no end. Sagitario cupped Anko's cheek with his hand and sighed contently.

"I promise that I won't scare you again," reassured Sagitario. "Won't you do me the honor of having my child?"

A vein throbbed in Anko's temple.

"Sa-gi-tar-io!" she growled each syllable.

Sagitario sweat dropped.

"Just kidding!" he lied.

Anko bopped him one…

* * *

The stars were out that night. Naruto and Elaine were walking together with no clear destination in mind. For the most part, both were taking the time to get to know each other.

"So there's no ninja village in Aurora Country?" asked Naruto.

"No, there's little need for military power so it didn't have a ninja village. Instead, the children were sent to be trained in other hidden villages at young ages to broaden our view of the world. It's rare that we ever get to go back since the area is largely overpopulated," explained Elaine.

Naruto grew thoughtful. Naruto would never really know himself, but being far away from one's family seemed like it would be tough. He had a sudden revelation.

"Could you tell me more about our pendants?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Okay," agreed Elaine. "They are only two out of a family of eight. Each jewel represents one of the seven colors of the rainbow while the last one represents the sun. They were all found in the heart of Kyokko no Kuni were the Aurora is brightest. Nobody knows how they got there or why, but those who had one became unusually lucky. It was soon discovered that the jewels had unique effects on Ninjutsu and the environment. In addition to that, the jewels seemed to react when they were near each other, often resulting in massive energy surges. Before long, people feared the jewels to be dangerous when together. So they were split into pairs and protected by four selected families. Mine was one of them."

Naruto was stunned into silence. He withdrew his pendant from his shirt and stared at it. Elaine moved next to Naruto and held her pendant up. Both begun to glow as if greeting each other. It felt warm in Naruto's palm.

"Maybe your pendant will give way to a great ability too," suggested Elaine.

Naruto looked Elaine in the eye and smiled.

"I don't know about that, but I'm grateful to these jewels. They truly are lucky," said the blond while holding his up next to Elaine's. "Because of them, we were able to meet each other."

"Right!" agreed Elaine happily.

"Elaine…I never gave this back to you did I?" said Naruto with a smile.

"Huh? Gave what back, Nar…"

Naruto abruptly embraced Elaine in a hug, much to her total surprise. Elaine's face turned tomato red as the pendants bestowed another stroke of good luck.

"Naruto…I…"

"I'll protect you, Elaine. You can count on me," whispered Naruto.

Slowly, Elaine returned the hug.

"_I know. I always have,_" she thought.

Little did they know, three pairs of eyes were watching them within the darkness of the alleyways…

* * *

Sasuke was on his way to meet with Kakashi at some café the following morning. This was fine to him since it allowed him to stop thinking about Naruto's fight with Gaara. How a 'loser' like him managed to become so strong was at a lost on the Uchiha. Naruto was completely different from the kid that used to fall for obvious traps. Sasuke wouldn't have been surprised if Naruto was a little stronger than him already. That, more than anything, pissed him off.

His frown deepen as he trekked on with his hands in his pockets, the definition of emo. He walked like that until he spotted Kakashi, Asuma and a slightly flushed Kurenai chatting in front of the meeting point.

"Kakashi…it's rare for you to already be here," observed Sasuke while looking about.

"Yeah well, every once in awhile," responded Kakashi sheepishly.

Sasuke frowned at the smell of sweets from the café.

"Look, I don't know why you called me out here but I don't like sweets," murmured Sasuke, thinking that Kakashi was going to treat him or something.

"Oh, that's too bad," commented Kakashi while giving Kurenai and Asuma a look that more or less said 'get moving.'

They nodded and took to the air as if in pursuit of someone. Sasuke narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the sight.

"What's going on, Kakashi?" asked Sasuke coolly.

"I wanted to let you know that I have your training manual. Feel free to pick it up at my place later, okay?" invited the gray haired Jounin while turning a page in his favorite book.

"Fine, and?" pressed Sasuke, knowing that that wasn't all Kakashi wanted to say.

"Your goal, you should give up on revenge," said Kakashi seriously.

"I'm not in the mood, Kakashi," waved off Sasuke, who heard this speech many times already. "If that's all you wanted to bother me about then I'm going."

"I understand, Sasuke. Just keep in mind, the more you pursuit revenge the more you consume yourself. Please, at least think about it," requested Kakashi before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke frowned.

"_I don't have time for this. I have to surpass Naruto_."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the thought and set off to train…

* * *

Naruto felt happier than he ever remembered being. His first date, ever, had been a complete success. So much so that not even the teasing of the Kyuubi could annoy him. With the conversations he had with Elaine still fresh in his mind, Naruto decided to go visit Sagitario after his morning training exercises.

Unlike with Sasuke, the nurse was a good deal more helpful and guided him to his room promptly. Though part of the reason she was so cooperative may have been because of the chance to see her favorite lecher again. Naruto sweat dropped, Sagitario hadn't been kidding when he said he visited the nurses often.

"Sagitario-kun, you have a visitor today!" announced the nurse sweetly while opening the door.

Sagitario was sitting upright and staring out the window. His torso was bare, exposing his lean muscles along with the bandages wrapped around him. He turned towards his visitors and smiled, causing the nurse to squeal like a school girl. Naruto sweat dropped and stepped around her.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. How nice of you to drop by," greeted Sagitario warmly.

The nurse, who was still ogling Sagitario's upper body, bowed an apology and left the room. Naruto pulled up a stool and sat down besides the ANBU captain.

"How are you feeling, Sagitario-sensei?" asked Naruto concernedly.

"Not too bad. There wasn't any serious damage," replied Sagitario with a smile.

"Oh, that's good!" said a relieved Naruto with a grin.

The blond then held up a fruit basket that he had picked up on the way.

"I couldn't find any roses so I figured that you would like fruit just as much!" explained Naruto while setting it down on the bed.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun!" said Sagitario happily before shooting him a curious glance. "Are things going well? You seem, more lively than usual."

"Yeah! I feel great!" replied Naruto with a laugh.

Sagitario smiled knowingly.

"You finally asked Elaine-san for an outing," he perfectly predicted.

Naruto turned scarlet.

"Uh huh," admitted Naruto. "_Geez, who else is going to figure that out!_"

The Kyuubi snickered.

"Well I'll be! I'll simply have to tell Domino-san about this!" teased Sagitario.

"Come on! Have a heart!" pleaded Naruto, even though he knew everyone would probably figure it out anyway.

Sagitario laughed and thankfully didn't pursuit the subject any further.

"So what did you need to see me about?" asked Sagitario while seizing an apple from the basket and biting into it.

"I know there wasn't much I could've done, but lately I wonder. If I hadn't gone after Sasuke…"

"Stop right there, Naruto-kun," interrupted Sagitario seriously. "It wouldn't have changed the outcome. The opponents, were high level ninja that were already beyond anyone's means of defeating. Sarutobi's technique was the only thing that could save the village. Thus was the hand that we had been dealt."

"I know but…"

"Sasuke will need you more than you realize. The one person that you saved, will prove to be the point of impact for thousands of people," Sagitario smiled. "You actually saved many future lives just by helping Sasuke. I think Sarutobi-sama would have preferred it that way."

Naruto smiled at that. Truthfully, it made a lot of sense.

"Yeah," agreed Naruto. "You know, I want to save more even people if I can. So I'm going to train really hard, Sagitario-sensei!"

"Excellent!" encouraged Sagitario proudly.

With that, Naruto stood up and bowed. Once he straightened up, Naruto gave a two fingered salute.

"I'm off to get started. I'll come again, okay?" promised Naruto before turning to the door.

"Take care of her!" Sagitario teasingly called after him.

Naruto flushed and hastily left the room before Sagitario could tease him some more.

"Long time no see, sport," came a familiar voice once Naruto had closed the door.

Naruto turned towards it to find Jiraiya staring at him with his arms folded and a smirk in place.

"Oh, Ero-Sennin," greeted Naruto. "Why are you here?"

Jiraiya shrugged.

"No serious reason. I'm just visiting a friend of mine for today," replied Jiraiya. "But I'm glad I ran into you, kid. I've got a favor to ask of you."

"Well, okay. What is it?" asked Naruto.

"I'm going on a special mission today on behalf of the village. It would be great if you came with me," requested Jiraiya.

"Mission huh? What's the mission?"

"I'm trying to find someone. A very special woman by the name of Tsunade," replied Jiraiya.

Naruto froze. Tsunade was the medical expert that Rin had been talking about. Naruto gave Jiraiya a look as if to say "Go on." Jiraiya grinned.

"I can't tell you too much more at the moment, but her medical skills will be quite useful to the village," hinted Jiraiya.

"Well, I don't know…I was planning on training," said Naruto with a thoughtful frown.

Truthfully, Naruto was torn between getting stronger and actually meeting this Tsunade person. Jiraiya sensed this and grinned again.

"Tell you what, Naruto. To repay you for doing this mission with me, I'll teach you a really powerful technique."

Naruto perked up at that.

"Just how powerful are we talking?" asked the blond.

"Strong enough to be considered an equal to some of those Dragon Lord techniques you've been learning," replied Jiraiya.

That did the trick.

"Okay, I'm in!" agreed Naruto excitedly.

"Great! Then meet me in front of the main gates in one hour. I'll get a gate pass for you," said Jiraiya.

"Okay, see you there!" cried Naruto as he took off running to get packed for the trip.

Jiraiya grinned.

"Too easy…"

* * *

Kurenai and Asuma stood patiently in front of the bridge leading outside of Konoha's forest. They didn't have to wait long, two figures dressed in black robes with red patterns and straw hats came into sight. One of them had what looked like a wrapped sword on his back. The two groups stared at each other for a moment.

"You guys are outsiders here. State your reason for being in our village or we may have to haul you in for questioning," warned Asuma.

One of the robed men, who was slightly shorter than his partner, spoke up first.

"It's nice to see you guys again, Asuma-san and Kurenai-chan," came a soft voice.

"Since you know our names, I take it you used to be a Shinobi here?" questioned Asuma.

Rather than respond, the soft spoken man lifted his straw hat enough to show his eyes. Both of them were Sharingan, much to Asuma and Kurenai's surprise.

"Y-you're…!" they both begun.

The apparent Uchiha, completely removed his hat and unfastened his high collar. Asuma smiled in anticipation.

"Man, who would've thought that you would be so bold as to come directly into the village…Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi's partner spoke up in a raspy voice.

"Are you acquaintances of Itachi-san? Then allow me to introduce myself."

He removed his hat revealing an beastly looking face, not unlike that of a shark. His skin had a gray-blue tinge and his teeth were razor sharp. Gills were on either side of his cheeks. His fin shaped blue hair added to his shark look.

"My name is Hoshigaki Kisame, pleased to meet ya," said Kisame with a toothy grin.

Both of them had a slash in their forehead protectors, indicating them to be missing nins. Criminals that fled their own villages for personal reasons, usually involving a criminal act.

"Heh, we've hit the jackpot, Kurenai," said Asuma confidently.

"Konohagakure no Itachi and Kirigakure no Kisame. Both S class criminals listed in the Bingo book. Tell us, why have you come here?" demanded Kurenai.

"Please, don't fight with us. I'd rather not have to kill you two," said Itachi in disregard to her question.

The Konoha Jounin's glares more or less said "Not a chance." Kisame drew his sword and 'tapped' the ground with it, resulting in a small crater. This was done with just one arm.

"Can I kill them?" asked the human shark.

"It doesn't look like we can go in peace. Very well, but try not to draw too much attention. Your techniques tend to be pretty loud," consented Itachi coolly.

With that, the struggle began! Kisame started off with a swing from his still wrapped sword. Asuma had little trouble avoiding it and quickly armed himself with his knuckles, that doubled as trench knives too. Asuma used them to stop Kisame's follow up swing. Kurenai used that chance to form seals. Once finished, a chilled wind picked up causing her to fade away.

Kisame was too focused on Asuma to care. Using one arm, the shark was easily overwhelming both of Asuma's arms. With a cry, Kisame's sword was yanked back resulting in Asuma's arm getting shaved. Asuma grunted in pain from the attack.

"What do you think of my shark skin, Samehada?" taunted Kisame.

"That's pretty scary," replied Asuma with a smirk.

The words had no sooner left his mouth before both Kisame and Itachi were seized by rapidly growing trees. Kisame was stunned by this unexpected development while Itachi remained calm and collected. The Uchiha glanced upwards to find half of Kurenai separating from the tree with a kunai in hand.

"This is the end!" declared Kurenai as she prepared to attack.

Itachi smirked and blinked just once causing the technique to suddenly reverse back onto Kurenai! The red eyed woman was startled to the extreme. Itachi coolly stared into her eyes.

"You really thought that such a low level Genjutsu would work on me? How foolish of you," quietly scolded Itachi while producing his own kunai.

Kurenai bit her lips until a trickle of blood resulted. The pain freed her from the illusion and she quickly ducked just as Itachi attacked. Her hair still got cut a little. Itachi had been expecting this and lashed out with a buster kick. Kurenai blocked the brunt of the damage with her arms, but the overall force still sent her flying over the bridge.

She hit the water with a groan and quickly made to stand on the surface. Itachi's voice sounded behind her, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"It's time to end this…" begun Itachi.

"But I'm stopping you guys here," interrupted Kakashi's voice.

Itachi glanced over his shoulders at the gray haired Jounin. Likewise, a second Kakashi stood protectively in front of Asuma. Kisame just grinned and formed seals that were copied perfectly.

"Suiton, Suikodan no Jutsu!" they cried at the same time.

Twin torrents of water in the shape of shark heads rose from the lake and collided into each other for no effect, save to get everyone wet.

"What the!?" exclaimed Kisame at Kakashi's use of the same technique.

Asuma sighed in relief at the sudden reinforcement.

"What kept you, Kakashi?" kidded Asuma.

The Kakashi behind Itachi pressed a kunai to his throat.

"So, what brings a couple of Nukenin here of all places?" asked Kakashi seriously.

Kisame laughed.

"Hot diggity damn! Another Sharingan user other than Itachi-san is around eh? Now that's interesting!" commented the Human Shark loudly. "You're Copy Ninja Kakashi right?"

"Indeed. I'm just as interested in you Hoshigaki Kisame, one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist," replied Kakashi.

"Excellent, my name is even famous in these parts! Yes, I'm one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu. You killed that Zabuza kid, right? He never was very talented," commented Kisame while lifting his sword. "Come on then, I'll show you what a real swordsman is like!"

"Knock it off!" interrupted Itachi. "The longer we spend fighting here, the more unwanted attention we can and will attract. We're not here to make enemies."

"Then tell us, what is it you two are after?" asked Kakashi for the second time.

"The Legacy of the Fourth Hokage," was all Itachi said before producing a handful of shuriken.

Kakashi quickly jumped back while forming seals.

"Suiton, Suijinheki!"

Kakashi was shielded by Elaine's technique just as four watery spears attempted to impale him. Kakashi frowned when the attack ended.

"_Such seal making speed…my eyes could barely keep up,_" observed Kakashi.

"Impressive insight, Kakashi-san," complimented Itachi coolly.

Kakashi felt a kunai get rammed into his back from Itachi's shadow clone. He winced in pain before dissolving into a puddle of water. Kisame grinned at this.

"_Well I'll be. He knows a lot of my village's Jutsu!_" thought the Shark Man.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and stared at Kurenai. Kakashi lunged out of the water he had been hiding in and tackled her out of the way. The reason for this appeared in the form of a giant explosion of water. Itachi had apparently made use of Naruto's suicide bombing method with his shadow clone. The airborne water fell in a gentle shower of rain. Itachi was amazingly skilled and almost just as fast as Xi when it came to seal speed.

Kakashi winced, the explosion had did considerable damage to him when he shielded Kurenai with his body. Asuma quickly joined them with Kisame being pretty much forgotten. Kakashi turned towards Itachi warily.

"Keep up your guard, this man was once an ANBU Captain. He has yet to show his full strength," warned Kakashi.

Asuma and Kurenai stiffened at the mess they had gotten themselves into now. Itachi had his eyes locked solely on Kakashi.

"You may have the Sharingan Kakashi-san, but you're nowhere near strong enough to use it properly. Allow me to demonstrate the full power of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan," murmured Itachi before closing his eyes.

Kakashi begun to panic at that.

"Everyone, don't look into his eyes!"

He, Asuma and Kurenai all closed their eyes. The drawback mostly fell on Kakashi though. Since he was using his Sharingan at the moment, that eye couldn't be closed immediately. Naturally, he found himself gazing into Itachi's eyes when he reopened them.

"Mangekyo Sharingan," murmured Itachi before his eyes snapped open.

Itachi's eyes were littered with blood veins and the Sharingan had changed its' appearance. The three tomoe had fused together into one big pupil. Their effect on Kakashi was instant…

The gray haired Jounin found himself bound to a crucifix and completely alone. The sky was an eerie shade of red and everything else, including himself, was a shade of black and white. Itachi appeared in front of him holding a katana in hand.

"Welcome to Tsukuyomi. For the next three days, your body belongs to me," stated Itachi before stabbing him with the sword.

Kakashi moaned in pain as the cold steel pierced his flesh. He then mysteriously blacked out for a second and reawaken. Checking the site of the damage, he found his body to be perfectly fine again.

"A…Genjutsu?" he whispered.

Kakashi looked up and found two Itachi standing before him. Both were holding swords, much to Kakashi's dismay.

"Time and space have no meaning here," said one Itachi before stabbing him.

"I control everything," said the other over Kakashi's screaming before stabbing him with his sword.

"This may be an illusion, but the pain is very much real," they said as one before removing their swords and stabbing him again.

Kakashi blacked out once more and awoke to find over a hundred Itachi's surrounding him.

"Oh my god!!" was all he could manage before they attacked…

By the time it was all over and the technique came to and end, Kakashi collapsed. Kurenai and Asuma heard the splash of his body on the water but were too frightened to open their eyes. Three days had passed in just one measly minute!

"Kakashi! What's happening?" they cried time and time again.

Kisame joined Itachi with a grin.

"Poor fool, you broke his sprit Itachi-san," observed the Man Shark with a snicker. "Better be careful, it won't do you good to use those eyes too much."

"Perhaps you would like to finish them off then?" said Itachi.

"Maybe I would!" replied a grinning Kisame while grasping his sword.

Kisame charged the group and was just about to nail them when…

"Konoha Goriki Senpuu!"

Kisame grunted as he was sent flying back from whence he came by a power packed kick from Gai! Gai assumed the initiative granting pose.

"Who the heck are you!?" grumbled a slightly miffed Kisame.

"I am the Beautiful Green Beast and enemy of all un-youthful things! Maito Gai!" introduced the bowl cut legend with a dazzling grin.

"Heh, green beast eh? This should be interesting," murmured Kisame in amusement.

"Don't underestimate him," warned Itachi seriously.

Gai kneeled and picked up Kakashi's floating frame. Once his rival was slung over his shoulder he glared at Itachi.

"Gai, don't look at his eyes!" warned Asuma.

"I know. After fighting against Kakashi for so long, I've learned a few tricks to get around that eye of his. Go ahead and open your eyes, guys," instructed Gai.

"But…" begun Kurenai uncertainly.

"The secret is where you focus your attention. Just watch his feet and you'll have no problems," reassured Gai.

Asuma and Kurenai did just that, but one thing was wrong.

"This may work for you Gai, but we won't be able to predict his movement like you can," pointed out Kurenai.

"True. I'll show you guys how to do that some other time. In the meantime…Kurenai, take Kakashi to the someplace safe. Asuma, you'll be my back up," order Gai. "I've already contacted the ANBU so they'll be here soon. Sagitario is going to be so mad about missing a fight with Itachi Uchiha."

Gai grinned in amusement at the thought.

"Okay," they both agreed.

Kisame looked eager to fight but Itachi was much more calculating.

"Let's go, Kisame. We don't have anymore time to waste and it would be foolish to deal with the ANBU now."

Kisame groaned.

"Aw, I never get to have any fun," grumbled the Shark Man.

With that, he and Itachi vanished in gusts of wind…

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya had long since set on the road by the time Itachi and Kisame had started fighting. Naruto was once more bouncing with his usual energy.

"So Ero-Sennin, what kind of technique will I be learning?" asked Naruto.

"Geez kid, why can't you just call me by my name once in awhile? Ero-Sennin gets annoying you know," grumbled Jiraiya.

"Sorry," apologized Naruto sheepishly.

Jiraiya cleared his throat and raised a professor finger.

"We'll put your technique to practice soon, for now we need to make a quick stop in Otafuku City."

"Alright…Jiraiya-sama, why did you want me to come with you?" asked Naruto.

"Simply put, you remind me of someone," replied Jiraiya.

"The Fourth," predicted Naruto.

"Yes," confirmed Jiraiya. "Not just in looks either."

"I still remember…" said Naruto sadly. "When he died. The Fourth was a great man, right?"

"Yeah. He was," replied Jiraiya quietly.

Naruto put on his determined look.

"Whatever technique you try to teach me, I'll work hard to perfect it. I have someone I got to protect, including everyone else in the village," declared the blond.

Jiraiya shot him an intrigued look.

"_You've changed, kid. I can honestly say that you're an exact copy of Yondaime now. I wonder how far you'll go_."

"Since you taught the Fourth, who was your teacher?" asked Naruto after a moment.

"Well, I want trained by the Third many years ago. You could say that I did a lot of the same training you've done. Kakashi says that you were the one who got tied to the post," teased Jiraiya.

Naruto sweat dropped. It wasn't something he was proud of.

"Don't feel bad, I got tied up too!" admitted Jiraiya with a laugh.

"You!?" exclaimed Naruto before snickering.

Jiraiya grinned.

"It worked out well for both of us right? A good teacher, raises a good apprentice!" stated the Toad Tamer.

"Yep!"

* * *

Sasuke opened the door to Kakashi's room and entered.

"Kakashi-sensei, you have that manual I wanted?" asked Sasuke before he took note of the Jounin gathered in the room.

Gai, Asuma and Kurenai were all staring at him in a poor attempt at acting like nothing was wrong with this picture. Kakashi was laying in bed, completely out cold.

"What's going on? Why is Kakashi sleeping?" demanded Sasuke suspiciously.

"Nothing's going on. Kakashi just had a hang over," lied Gai.

Sasuke didn't buy that story one bit and was about to press for more information when someone barged into the room.

"Is it true!? Itachi Uchiha was here looking for Naruto?!" asked the intruding Jounin.

Asuma and Gai slapped their foreheads while Kurenai closed her eyes in annoyance.

"Idiot!" she hissed under her breath.

Sasuke clenched his fists and his aura slightly swirled around him. Without warning, he knocked the alien Jounin aside and dashed out of Kakashi's place before anyone could stop him. Sasuke was a blur as he dashed to Naruto's apartment. The moment he arrived he yanked the door open causing Sakura to stumble out with a cry of surprise.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Where's Naruto!?" demanded Sasuke darkly.

"I-I don't know. I just got here to drop off some…"

Sasuke dashed off again before Sakura could finish that thought. In little time at all, Sasuke arrived at Ichiraku's and rushed inside.

"Old man! Have you seen Naruto!?" demanded Sasuke.

"Nope. I haven't seen him since yesterday morning," replied Teuchi thoughtfully.

"Damn it!" hissed Sasuke before preparing to take off.

"Wait! I saw him leaving town with a big man with white hair this morning," supplied Ayame.

"Where do you think they went?!" pressed Sasuke.

"The only place nearby is a lodging town thirty-five kilometers east of here."

That was all he needed to hear. Sasuke dashed off before anything else could be said. Sasuke didn't have time to pick up a gate pass, he just hoped that he wouldn't get into too much trouble. Before the guards could stop him, Sasuke dashed out the font gate like a crazed bunny…

* * *

The commercial town was a bustling place with lots of activities and merchants at work. Naruto and Jiraiya proceeded to get checked into a hotel as their first plan of action. Naruto wasn't sure why they were stopping since they had barely traveled much. Figuring that Jiraiya was just getting old, Naruto didn't complain very much about it. It was a good chance to increase his chakra total by meditating in any case.

Jiraiya had no sooner faced Naruto before he went goo-goo gaga over something or other. Naruto followed his gaze to find a gorgeous woman standing behind him. She was a total knock out with killer high heels and a curve hugging blue dress. Naruto sweat dropped when Jiraiya barreled pass him while tossing the keys over his shoulder.

"Train and go to bed!" ordered Jiraiya, much to Naruto's annoyance.

In no time at all, the perverted hermit already had his arm around the lady. They walked off, Naruto completely forgotten.

"What a pain!" grumbled Naruto.

"_**He's pathetic.**_" added the Kyuubi.

For once, Naruto agreed with the Kitsune…

Once in his room, Naruto set about his meditative exercises. But it was a lot harder to concentration for some reason.

"_**You're thinking about her again, right?**_" teased the Kyuubi.

Naruto didn't waste his time hiding it.

"_It's hard to believe isn't it? All this time, I was so caught up in Sakura-chan that I never noticed until now_."

"_**I admit, you are pretty dense about those kind of things.**_"

"_If that was a joke, it wasn't funny!_" grumbled Naruto.

"_**I tell it like I see it, brat.**_"

Naruto flopped back on the bed and gazed at the ceiling.

"_I don't know what to do. I like Elaine but I also like Sakura-chan._"

"_**Answer this, kodo. Who means more to you?**_"

Naruto already knew the answer in his heart, but his mind couldn't accept it right away. Naruto draped an arm over his eyes and groaned. The Kyuubi snickered.

"_**You're pathetic, boy. It isn't that hard.**_"

"_I…I…_"

A sudden barrage of knocking on the hotel room door, interrupted the conversation.

"Geez!" grumbled Naruto under his breath. "Keep your shirt on old man, I'm coming!"

The knocking only grew louder and more urgent. Intending to chew him out, Naruto yanked the door open. What he saw made him freeze. Naruto was staring into the eyes of Itachi Uchiha!

"_Who is he? He looks like Sasuke!_" observed Naruto.

Kisame stepped from behind Itachi and sneered at Naruto.

"It's hard to believe that a little squirt has the Nine-Tails sealed in him," commented the Man Shark.

Naruto gave a start at their knowledge of the Tailed beast.

"Naruto-kun, you will be coming with us," stated Itachi as if it were a matter of fact. "Step outside."

It wasn't a request.

Slowly, Naruto did just that. He knew that these guys were serious fighters. On top of that, the blond was at a slight disadvantage when it came to fighting in cramped areas. Kisame watched his every move like a hawk.

"It would be troublesome if he moved around, Itachi-san. Let's cut off his legs," suggested the Shark Man in what didn't sound like a joke on his part.

Itachi didn't say anything against that course of action so Kisame gripped his sword and slowly advanced with a malevolent grin. Naruto gulped, things were going to get messy. Everyone paused due to a sudden surge of chakra.

"It's been a long time…Sasuke," said Itachi without turning around.

Kisame glanced over his shoulder while Naruto risked glancing pass them. Sasuke stood a few feet away with shadows over his eyes. His aura was visible and at its' max.

"Uchiha Itachi…"

Sasuke closed his eyes.

"I hate you!"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and glared hatefully at his elder brother.

"I detest you!"

He held up his electrically crackling arm.

"And just so that I could kill you!"

It spread to his other arm.

"I've survived!"

Kisame grinned.

"Ah, so that's your kid brother eh? He looks like a miniature you," said Kisame cruelly. "What was his name again?"

"Uchiha Sasuke…my sorry excuse of a little brother," replied Itachi coolly.

Naruto stiffened.

"_He's the guy Sasuke wants to kill?_"

Itachi finally turned around and stared. The hallway filled with the chirping of birds as the Nijuu Chidori was finally made ready.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto in alarm as the Uchiha kid dashed forward in the form of an impossible to follow blur.

"DIE!"

The following explosions were earsplitting. Itachi had took hold of both of Sasuke's wrists and deflected his attack into the walls instead. Sunlight streamed in through the twin holes on either side of the Uchiha brothers. Sasuke gritted his teeth hatefully while Naruto trembled at how easily Sasuke's move had been avoided.

Itachi gave Sasuke wrists a squeeze, causing him to cry out in pain. Sasuke sank to his knees while willing the pain to lessen in his throbbing wrists. Judging by the feel of them, Itachi had fractured his wrist bones. This angered Naruto and he immediately kicked up his max by synchronizing his chakra with the Kyuubi's. Everyone glanced at him fearfully.

"Damn kid! He can actually control its' chakra," observed Kisame before quickly swinging his sword at Naruto.

Naruto didn't dodge since it was obvious that Kisame was going to miss. Still, had Naruto known Kisame's true intentions, that would've been his first priority. His chakra was cut down and consumed by Kisame's sword!

"What the!? What the hell did you do!?" demanded Naruto heatedly.

"Stupid kid, my Samehada can absorb chakra like a sponge. Now, hold still while I remove your arms and legs," ordered Kisame with a evil grin.

"Damn it!" hissed Naruto while sinking into the Flowing River Stance.

This was going to get a bit rough. Kisame swung his blade, but it seemed to be moving in slow motion compared to Naruto. The blond easily sidestepped it and vanished in a flash. Naruto scored a solid blow to Kisame's solar plexus, but the Man Shark didn't even look like he felt it!

"What was that suppose to be, a love tap?" taunted Kisame with a grin before throwing a sidekick.

Naruto vanished and quickly swept Kisame's legs only to watch him expertly fly into the move for a solid palm thrust to Naruto's chest. The blond slid back and smashed into the wall, hard!

"Ugh!" groaned Naruto.

This man was frighteningly strong. Without some extra beef from the Kyuubi, Naruto doubted if his normal attacks would even hurt him. That being the case, Naruto begun forming seals for his secret weapon.

"Hold on!" interrupted a booming voice.

In a poof of smoke, Jiraiya appeared in front of Naruto with the woman from before slung over his shoulder. Naruto had a sinking suspicion that the pervert had been planning to do something naughty.

"You guys don't know me very well! Jiraiya is better at winning girls than being seduced by one! I already knew what you guys were up to all along!" declared Jiraiya with a grin.

"Liar!" hissed Naruto.

Jiraiya sweat dropped while everyone else looked at him like he was a circus freak. Kisame chuckled.

"You're Jiraiya of the Legendary Three, right? Your weakness is women of course, but we both knew that it wouldn't keep you away for long. You removed the Genjutsu from the woman right?" asked Kisame with a sneer.

"Maybe. What cha gonna do about it?" quipped Jiraiya before growing serious. "You've come after Naruto after all. I was wise in getting him ready for this day."

Naruto and Sasuke stiffened,

"Very well, there's no point and hiding it now. We're taking the boy with us under orders from Akatsuki," stated Itachi.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to follow through with those orders," shot down Jiraiya. "I'm going to make you two disappear now."

"Don't interfere!" snapped Sasuke.

Everyone faced him to find Sasuke rising to his full height.

"I'm the one who will kill him!" declared Sasuke.

"Stay down, little brother. I'm not interested in a pointless fight with you," ordered Itachi.

"Shut up!" roared Sasuke before vanishing in a flash.

Itachi simply spun and kicked at the spot were Sasuke would appear. Sasuke was sent flying to smash with a grunt into the far wall. Itachi had predicted his move perfectly!

"Damn you!" groaned Sasuke while rising for another try. "I won't lose!"

Sasuke vanished once more. Itachi nailed him with a knee to the chin followed by five devastating punches and a brutal backhand. Sasuke hit the ground with a groan and coughed up some blood.

"Sasuke!" cried Naruto.

Sasuke once more struggled to get up.

"Fine. Let's fight," murmured Itachi before approaching his little brother.

With a scream, Sasuke lunged forward into a double helicopter kick. Itachi dodged both easily and hopped back one step. Sasuke charged and attempted a flying leap kick. Once more Itachi avoided it without so much as a hair falling out of place. Sasuke then went into a kicking frenzy. There was very little he could do without the use of his arms. Itachi dodged every kick and countered with a solid knee smash into Sasuke's guts.

Sasuke sank to the ground and heaved up his lunch. Itachi didn't allow him the courtesy of finishing. His heel struck the still barfing Sasuke directly in the back of the neck, causing him to smash face first into his own bile. Itachi soccer kicked him in the side, making him smash into the wall a second time. Itachi picked him up by the collar and power punched him in the stomach. Sasuke couldn't even double over since Itachi smashed him into the wall hard enough to bang his head. The elder Uchiha was showing no mercy!

"You're weak. Can you tell me why?" said Itachi.

Sasuke was in too much pain to respond.

"Simple. You lack hatred. Allow me to grant you more of it," said Itachi with his first smirk since this ordeal began. "Mangekyo Sharingan."

Just as it did with Kakashi. Sasuke found himself in the world of Tsukuyomi. There he was forced to witness the destruction of his clan over and over again for twenty-four hours straight. Sasuke screamed as if he were dying, much to the anger of Naruto. Only Kisame found this to be funny.

"Damn you! Leave him alone!" screamed Naruto while rushing Itachi.

Kisame had no hope of catching up to Naruto. Jiraiya begun flashing through seals while Kisame rushed to aid Itachi any way that he could. Naruto attempted to throw a wild punch into the side of Itachi's head. The elder Uchiha merely leaped backwards causing him to miss, or so he thought. Itachi narrowed his eyes at Naruto when a thin trickle of blood leaked out of a tiny cut on his cheek.

Since Itachi had lost his concentration, Sasuke was released prematurely from his technique. Sasuke opened his eyes just long enough to see the blood on his brother's cheek from Naruto's attack before he blacked out.

"_Damn him…that…Naru…to…_"

Itachi slowly wiped his cheek clean with a glare. This kid was asking for it now. Naruto touched down and was about to attack again when…

"Gamaguchi Shibari!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing as the walls grew some pinkest cover that looked a bit slimy. Everyone turned towards the smirking Jiraiya.

"Tough luck, folks! You're in my belly now! This here is the esophagus of a Rock frog from the Myouboku Mountain. Becoming frog food should be a fitting end for you criminals."

Itachi and Kisame growled in annoyance.

"Naruto, stay still. I'll handle the rest," ordered Jiraiya.

"Kisame, we're leaving," stated Itachi darkly.

"Right," agreed Kisame.

They took off running while Jiraiya grinned evilly. The walls begun giving chase to the criminals like police hounds. Kisame let loose a stream of extremely foul language as they ran like the dickens. Kisame only stopped to cut down a few chunks of the wall that got too close for comfort.

"It's too fast!" complained Kisame.

Itachi merely closed his eyes…

Jiraiya and Naruto gave starts when a sudden explosion rang out. Both ran to see what had happened only to find a large hole in the wall. Dancing black flames surrounded the site of ruin.

"They got away!" exclaimed Naruto.

With a growl, Jiraiya approached the flames and produced a blank scroll from his pouch. He begun writing seals and symbols on it. Once done, Jiraiya formed seals.

"Fuuka Houin!"

The flames changed into misty vapors of chakra and fused with Jiraiya's scroll for use at a later time. The perverted hermit wrapped it up and stored it in his vest. Once done, Jiraiya dispelled the Frog Mouth and the duo then moved to check on Sasuke, who was still in the same place they left him. Sasuke was completely out cold. Out of nowhere, a kunai sailed pass. Naruto and Jiraiya turned towards where it came only to see Gai take to the air with a jump kick.

"Dynamic Entry!"

Jiraiya took the kick directly to the face! Gai begun to panic once he saw that Jiraiya had been on the receiving end. To say that Jiraiya was mad was an understatement. The perverted hermit started screaming at Gai and calling him all kinds of names.

"Sorry about that! I thought you were bad guys!" apologized Gai sheepishly.

Jiraiya was still miffed and more or less said "Take Sasuke and get out of my sight or else." Gai quickly did just that. Naruto watched this with worried eyes.

"Will he be alright?" asked Naruto.

"Maybe," replied Jiraiya with a frown. "His wrists and ribs are broken and his mind has suffered a serious attack. Had you not interfered, he might've been worst off."

Naruto shook with fury, both at Itachi and at himself. Here he was promising that he wouldn't let his friends get hurt and he couldn't even stop Sasuke from getting pounded. There were just so many people who were stronger than him. It gave added fuel to Naruto's passionate drive to grow stronger for his friends.

"I couldn't stop them," murmured Naruto darkly.

"Nor could I, Naruto. We'll just have to improve so that we can beat them next time," said Jiraiya.

* * *

Kurenai sighed in relief. Kakashi's fever had finally went down hinting that he would most likely make a full recovery. She had been put in charge of keeping watch over the gray haired Jounin for any unusual symptoms. So far, there hadn't been any. Still, Kurenai was certain that Kakashi was probably feeling stuffy with that face mask on. Truthfully, she always wondered what he looked like without it.

"_Just a peek wouldn't hurt,_" thought Kurenai nervously.

Slowly, her hands moved to take hold of his mask. With trembling hands, Kurenai tugged…

* * *

It had been three hours since that near disaster and once more, Naruto and Jiraiya were on the road. It hadn't been easy sneaking out of town without being caught by the hotel owner. Naruto almost felt bad for all the damage that had been caused. It was bound to have been expensive. The blond shot Jiraiya a serious glance after a moment.

"Ero-Sennin, why are those Akatsuki guys after me? Why do they want?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya returned Naruto's glance.

"They weren't after you. They wanted the creature inside of you," replied Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

"They're after the Kyuubi!?" exclaimed the blond.

"No, more likely they want it's power. The magnificent chakra of the beast feared by men," hypothesized Jiraiya. "They may even want to control it."

"_**Bah, no mere mortal will ever control me!**_" grumbled the Kitsune.

"I hate to say it, but those two will be after you for a long time," stated Jiraiya.

Naruto merely fingered his pendant through his shirt and grinned.

"Well, I'll just have to make it rough for them!" said Naruto confidently. "If this new technique is as strong as you say, it should help out next time around."

"Yeah, well you're in luck, kid. We're going to start your training right now," revealed a grinning Jiraiya while pointing straight ahead.

A bustling town stood before them inside of a vast valley. The town was apparently in the middle of some sort of festival. Jiraiya hinted that he would be gathering information on Tsunade while Naruto trained. Naruto grinned excitedly at the thought of finally getting started. Once in town, they immediately proceeded to check into another hotel.

"Okay, kid. You go ahead and enjoy the festival for awhile. I'll get started on the info gathering in the meantime," said Jiraiya with a smile.

"Got it!" cried Naruto excitedly while pulling out his Gama-chan wallet.

Jiraiya's eyes bulged at the sight of Naruto's fat wallet.

"Dang, kid! You're loaded!" cried Jiraiya.

Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, I've been saving since before the Chuunin exam! See ya!" said Naruto with a wave over his shoulder.

He vanished in a flash before Jiraiya could stop him.

"Darn!" grumbled the perverted hermit. "Speedy kid."

Naruto was already having the time of his life. He started things off with a full course meal of sweet potatoes, smoked fish, honey coated corn, a large basket of piping hot cheese bread and chocolate cover bananas. By the time he had finished chowing down, his belly was already compelling him to lay down and take a nap. He released a relaxed sigh and laided back to watch the clouds.

"_I wonder how everyone is doing?_" mused Naruto while thinking of his friends.

"_**I almost feel sorry for that Uchiha brat.**_"

"_Yeah…think he made it back okay?_"

"_**He was with that weirdo of a Jounin right? He should be fine.**_"

Naruto got up and stretched.

"_You probably right,_" said Naruto while throwing his empty food containers in a nearby trash bin. "Guess I'll enjoy the festival to take my mind off of things."

The next two hours were dedicated to playing festival games. Many of which he was pretty good at, save for this one fishing game involving a paper paddle. Naruto had won a lot of prizes consisting of Yo-yos, an ANBU mask, several candy boxes and a giant kite. Naruto was just thinking of heading back to the hotel to drop off his spoils when suddenly, the sound of Jiraiya's laughter rang out from a nearby shop. Curiously, Naruto went to check it out. What he saw was a very tipsy Jiraiya being massaged by two hot women. Jiraiya reeked of alcohol.

"Hic, oi kid. Are the…hic…festies over?" slurred Jiraiya with rosy cheeks.

"They're over alright. For you, that is!" said Naruto with a frown.

"Hic, lighten up kid. Let's have a…hic…drink together!" cried Jiraiya loudly.

"I'm under aged!" reminded Naruto in annoyance.

"N-no you're not…hic…y-you're crazy!" slurred Jiraiya.

Naruto sighed and vanished in a flash. With an apologetic look, Naruto sharply struck sensitive nerves in Jiraiya's neck. The old man instantly feel asleep and started snoring. Naruto then took an arm and half drag him back to the hotel. Knowing that nothing was going to get accomplished today, Naruto let the drunk old man sleep it off.

"What a pain!" groaned Naruto.

"_**Amen.**_" added the Kyuubi.

* * *

The following morning, Jiraiya awoke with a splitting headache and no memory of yesterday's events. This suited Naruto just fine since he was sure Jiraiya might've gotten mad at him for knocking him out. After some breakfast, and a few aspirin laced waters for Jiraiya, the two proceeded out to start Naruto's training. Jiraiya made certain to buy a bag full of water balloons, much to Naruto's confusion.

They went to a small clearing outside of town for a training area. Jiraiya immediately tossed Naruto a balloon. Naruto stared blankly at it as if trying to find some purpose to holding the tiny ball.

"Okay kid, I'm going to show you a special move that only I know at the moment," declared Jiraiya.

"Okay, but what does a water balloon have to do with anything?" asked Naruto.

"Allow me to show you," replied Jiraiya while seizing another balloon from the stack.

He held it up and strangely enough, the surface of the balloon grew bumpy. As if some force was trying to fight its way out of the water filled ball. After a moment of this, the ball popped and spilled water everywhere. Naruto gave a start of surprise.

"It's time to put your mastery over chakra control to practice now, Naruto. For this training, I want you to use your chakra to rotate the water and pop the balloon," instructed Jiraiya.

"Okay, how should I go about it?" asked Naruto with growing excitement.

Jiraiya smiled at his student's eagerness to learn the trick.

"For starters, you'll need to gather chakra in your hand. Once you've done this, imagine the rotation and go for it."

"Got it!" said Naruto before holding up the balloon.

At first nothing happened, then slowly it begun stretching as the water spun around inside of it. Naruto grinned.

"Awesome! This'll be easy!" declared Naruto with a grin.

"You think so, eh? In that case, I'll rest here until you pop it," said Jiraiya while sitting down next to a tree and producing a gourd full of sake.

"Don't get too comfortable, this won't take long!" declared Naruto while redoubling his efforts.

Jiraiya just smirked and watched…

Afternoon had arrived and the balloon still had yet to pop. So far, all Naruto had done was make it stretch until it looked more like a donut. The blond frowned at his lack of progress.

"What am I doing wrong!?" complained Naruto.

Jiraiya, who was on the verge of falling over from sleep, woke up and grinned.

"No luck, eh? It's not as easy as the Summoning Jutsu was, right kid?"

Naruto sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Jiraiya chuckled and stood up.

"Show me what you're doing, kid," requested Jiraiya.

"Um, okay," replied Naruto before holding up the balloon.

One more, it became as flat as a donut. Jiraiya whistled impressively.

"Which way are you rotating the water, clockwise or counterclockwise?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto ceased his efforts and grew thoughtful.

"Counterclockwise," replied Naruto.

"Alright, now come here for a second."

Curiously Naruto approached Jiraiya, who placed a hand on his head. Jiraiya's face was one of concentration so Naruto didn't say anything. After a moment, Jiraiya sighed.

"As I expected. You're a clockwise rotation type," declared Jiraiya.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"Everyone has a different rotation type that is used when molding chakra. Using a rotation different from your actual type causes the energy to fluctuate. As a result, your chakra wasn't moving fast enough to pop the balloon," explained Jiraiya.

"Oh, but how did you know I was a clockwise type?" asked Naruto curiously.

"From the direction of the whorl of your hair. It always grows in the direction that matches your rotation type," replied Jiraiya knowingly. "This time, try using a clockwise rotation."

"Right!" cried Naruto before doing just that.

This time, the balloon stretched to the flatness of a pancake! It erupted into water a few seconds after Naruto started. Naruto didn't cheer about it though.

"I did it wrong. It didn't become bumpy like yours did," murmured Naruto with a frown.

Jiraiya smiled.

"I'll leave you to figure out the rest, kid. I'm going information gathering," declared Jiraiya before heading towards town.

Naruto barely acknowledged him. His mind was already hard at work trying to figure out exactly how to copy Jiraiya's use of the technique…

It was late that night by the time Naruto came to a solution. Six splattered balloons littered the ground from his failed attempts, but each was the product of a different experiment Naruto had attempted. The first balloon had been a copy of his pancake try. The next two, Naruto had tried rotating the water counterclockwise and reversing to clockwise after a minute had passed. The remaining three, Naruto had tried shortening the times between the rotation change and was please to see some bumps appearing in the surface. This time, Naruto was going to try something different.

With that, Naruto put his new idea to practice. Making use of his free hand, Naruto performed random rotations while he focused on the reversing rotations he had been doing. The balloon immediately became a bumpy ball before letting loose a loud pop. Naruto's plan had worked! The blond begun cheering like mad at his success!

"_**Are you really my container? You've suddenly gotten pretty good at thinking outside of the box.**_" said the Kyuubi in its idea of a compliment.

Naruto merely grinned and rushed towards town to show the fruits of his training to Jiraiya…

* * *

Naruto found Jiraiya sleeping in the hotel. Once more, he reeked of alcohol.

"Information gathering, huh?" grumbled Naruto while pinching his nose in disgust.

"Hey, Ero-Sennin! Get up, I want to show you something!" screamed Naruto.

Jiraiya winced and rolled over while covering his head with his pillow.

"Not so loud please! Can it wait until morning?" mumbled Jiraiya tiredly.

Naruto sighed and formed a seal.

"Henge!"

Jiraiya hopped up as quick as a flash in anticipation. He was rubbing his hands together excitedly. Of course, Naruto had bluffed him out of his skin. His was still in his normal form with a grin on his face.

"That was low," groaned Jiraiya. "Alright, what is it?"

"I've figured out how to pop the balloon! Watch this!" requested Naruto excitedly.

Once more Naruto did the two handed rotation trick. The balloon popped in hardly anytime at all. Naruto proudly grinned while Jiraiya stared at him.

"I'll buy breakfast in the morning," promised Jiraiya in his idea of a reward before laying back down.

Naruto did the same, knowing that he was well on the road to perfecting this technique…

* * *

As promised, Jiraiya took Naruto to a restaurant for breakfast. The whole while he kept nodding proudly.

"That was an impressive idea," said Jiraiya after hearing Naruto's tale for the third time.

"Thanks!" responded Naruto with a grin.

"Well, the first step had been completed. Congratulations, you can move on to phase two," declared Jiraiya while sipping some tea. "We'll need to pick up a few things before we start."

With that, both of them cheerfully polished off breakfast and went to the market. There, Jiraiya bought a bag full of rubber balls. Naruto frowned at the sight, he had half hoped that they would do something cooler. Jiraiya remained indifferent to his disappointment…

"Here you go," said Jiraiya, once they went back to the training grounds.

Naruto caught the ball and warily frowned at it. Jiraiya held up his own ball and easily popped that one in the same manner as the balloon. Naruto gulped when it did pop due to the small shockwave that erupted from it. Naruto had a sinking feeling that this was going to be harder than it looked.

"One-hundred times harder," said Jiraiya as if he had read his mind. "Care to give it a try?"

Naruto gritted his teeth and tried the same tactic again. Sadly, this spawned no results. Naruto mentally cursed.

"Phase one was all about rotation. This time, the focuses is on power. Given your nature in that area, it shouldn't take too long for you to figure this one out. But don't get your hopes up for a early victory this time," warned Jiraiya seriously. "There's no water, so you'll have to give some thought to how you intend to rotate your chakra. Well, have fun squirt! I'm off to gather information!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at that and turned his attention to his newest problem…

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Naruto started and he still wasn't anywhere near popping that blasted ball. The furthest Naruto had gotten came last week when he had used as much chakra as he could in one sitting. This caused the ball to inflate, but that was about it. Overuse of chakra was causing his arms to hurt whenever he molded any.

Currently, Naruto was taking this time to try and think of another way to pop the ball. No ideas were coming to mind. With a frustrated cry, Naruto laided down and gazed at the clouds. Naruto's mind begun to wonder to his friends. Thinking back on it, Naruto didn't get a chance to say good bye to everyone before starting this journey with Jiraiya. It made him feel a bit guilty. Even more so when he thought of the condition Sasuke was currently in. It fueled his drive to get stronger once more.

"_Just wait guys, I'll be back and stronger than ever,_" vowed Naruto before closing his eyes blissfully. "Elaine…" he mumbled sleepily.

"Yes, Naruto?"

The blond gave a start and bolted upright. Kneeling besides him was a smiling Elaine!

"W-what are you doing here?" asked Naruto in total surprise.

"I got worried when Gai-sensei brought Sasuke back to the village. He told me that you guys were looking for Tsunade-sama so I wanted to lend a hand," explained Elaine cheerfully.

"Oh, you didn't try to come by yourself did you?" asked Naruto worriedly.

"No. Domino and Lee are with me. They're doing some shopping in town," replied Elaine. "You're not hurt are you?"

Naruto grinned and rubbed his nose.

"Nope, I got off pretty easy. Ero-Sennin helped me out a bit though."

Elaine sat down next to Naruto and tucked in her legs.

"I'm glad. If anything had happened to you I…" Elaine flushed.

Naruto smiled fondly at Elaine and slid closer.

"I'll always come back to you. So please, don't worry so much. It puts me at ease knowing that you have nothing to worry about," said Naruto kindly.

"Thank you, Naruto," gratefully said Elaine before leaning against his shoulder.

Naruto flushed before tenderly hugging Elaine. She felt so warm, Naruto never wanted to let go again. By the time they finally separated, neither knew how long they had sat like that, the sun was beginning to set. Naruto gazed into Elaine's eyes while she blushed profusely.

"Would you like to get something to eat?" asked Naruto.

"Yes!" replied Elaine happily.

With that, Naruto rose and helped Elaine to her feet. They then proceeded arm and arm to town in search of a restaurant…

Naruto and Elaine ended up dining at an outdoor patio with a large bowl of spaghetti. Oddly enough, Elaine had hardly touched her plate.

"What's wrong, Elaine?" asked Naruto worriedly. "_Did I do something wrong?_" he silently added.

Elaine shook her head and smiled.

"I just have a lot on my mind. I'm sorry."

Naruto placed some money on the table and stood up. He offered a hand to Elaine and smiled cheerfully.

"Then, let's go for a walk. Maybe it'll make you feel better," suggested Naruto.

Elaine smiled and took his hand.

"Okay," she agreed…

They didn't speak very much during the trip. Elaine mostly seemed to be lost in thought. This worried Naruto but he knew that it wouldn't help to pry too much.

"_I wonder what's wrong?_" thought Naruto while watching Elaine out the corner of his eye.

"_**I'm not sure about this kid, but something doesn't feel right. I think something is going to happen soon.**_" commented the Kyuubi with what sounded like real concern on its' part.

Naruto didn't reply to that, but silently he was thinking the same thing. Elaine rouse from her thoughtful state and smiled at Naruto.

"Do you still have the pendant?" she asked.

"Huh? Of course Elaine, I'd never take it off," replied Naruto.

"Could you show it to me? I want to show you something," said Elaine while giving Naruto's arm a slight tug.

"Sure," consented Naruto while following after her.

The blue haired girl lead Naruto to an isolated alleyway and faced Naruto expectantly. Naruto wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he pulled out his pendant and held it up. Elaine took hold of it with her palm and closed her eyes. The pendant begun to glow with a pale blue light. Naruto found this to be fascinating as he waited for something to happen. Without a word, Elaine leaned against Naruto's chest and flushed.

"E-Elaine…?" begun Naruto with a flush.

"Naruto…I…" Elaine rose up and slowly begun to close the distance between their faces. "I…"

Naruto's heart went into overdrive. Unless he was mistaken, Elaine was about to…

"I really…"

Their lips were mere inches apart. Naruto's face felt extremely warm as his eyes begun to close.

"_She's so beautiful,_" thought the blond.

"I really envy that girl!" growled Elaine before shoving Naruto.

The blond gave a startled cry as he tripped over a trash can. Before he fell, Elaine yanked on the pendant causing the chain to break. Elaine grinned evilly while gripping the jewel in her fist before hopping back a few feet. She formed a seal.

"Kai!"

A cloud of smoke surrounded her before clearing to reveal a pretty woman with red hair and a patch over her left eye. The woman was wearing a cherry red leather jumpsuit with matching heels. A pair of Sai were strapped to her lower back.

"You tricked me!" cried Naruto heatedly.

"Tough. It's your fault for being such a sucker!" said the woman before giving off an annoying high pitched laugh.

Naruto growled and climbed to his feet.

"Give it back!" demanded the blond angrily.

The woman smirked.

"No can do, little boy. This precious keeper will fetch a nice price. Someone like you doesn't need to carry such a thing," she said coolly.

"Don't mess with me!" bellowed Naruto before rushing her with a kunai in hand.

The woman smiled and withdrew one of her Sai. She blocked Naruto's attack and winked at him. Naruto screamed in agony as the Sai released a rather strong jolt of raw electricity on contact. The shock sent Naruto flying to land with a winded grunt on his back. Naruto begun breathing heavily as his body twitched from time to time.

"Sorry about that hun, but that's what happens when you clash with a Rogue Bandit," said the woman before giving off that annoying laugh again.

Naruto gritted his teeth and slowly climbed to his hands and knees.

"Give…it back!" groaned Naruto.

"Tsk, such a persistent one. You know, I really like you, kid. You were quite the charming gentleman tonight. Your little girlfriend is pretty lucky," taunted the woman. "I know! Since you've caught my eye, I'll tell you my name!"

"Give me the pendant!" snapped Naruto before vanishing in a flash.

Naruto reappeared for a beheading kick on the strange woman. Sadly, he only hit a wooden doll due to her replacement technique. Naruto angrily begun looking around for her.

"My name is Gloss. I'm a member of the Rogue Three," continued the woman from behind him.

Naruto spun around and looked up to find Gloss sitting cross legged on top of the alley wall.

"If you really want your precious pendant back then follow me, if you can!" said Gloss while standing up and catching the pendant a few times. "I'm heading for a place near here called Rogue Market. I look forward to seeing you again, cutie! Later!"

Gloss vanished in a swirl of wind and feathers. Naruto screamed in rage and punched the ground.

"Damn damn damn!" cried Naruto between hits. "COME BACK AND FIGHT ME!"

With one last cry, Naruto slammed the ground with both fists and begun to tremble…

* * *

Naruto was royally mad when he returned to the hotel room. How could he have lost something so precious to him. What bothered him most of all was how Elaine would take it if he told her that his pendant had been stolen. His only clue was what he heard from that Gloss woman. Quickly, Naruto wrote a note and left it on the table for Jiraiya to find when he woke up. No matter what it took, Naruto was going to get that jewel back! With that, Naruto begun the journey to the Rogue Market…alone.

Finding the location of the place hadn't been all that hard. Apparently, the Rogue Three were a infamous yet newly formed group around these parts. It was odd that Konoha had never bothered to get involved with them before. Anyway, for just five-hundred Ryou, Naruto learned that the Rogue Market was near some tourist town called Tanzaku City. That being half a day's walk away served to remind him just how vulnerable he would be without Jiraiya around.

"_Too late to worry about that now. Ready, Fox?_"

"_**Like I have a choice. Let's go, kid.**_"

Synchronizing their chakra, Naruto ended up leaving a thick trail of dust and debris in his wake as he dashed towards his goal at insane speeds…

* * *

The door to the hotel room was slightly open. Being the free roaming creature that he was, a white and brown house cat squeezed through the gap. It sniffed the air a bit before advancing further inside. With its' natural ability to see in the dark, the kitty took mild interest in the sleeping form of Jiraiya. What really caught its' attention however, was the open candy box on top of the table. Licking its' chops, the cat jumped onto the table in a single bound. It landed on some piece of paper and slightly smeared the still wet ink.

It hardly noticed and quickly satisfied its' cravings for the munchies. With a burp, the kitty hopped down and left the room…

* * *

Naruto arrived in Tanzaku City within two hours due to how fast he had been traveling. The sun had set fully by this time and most of the shops were closed. From what Naruto could see, the town was famous for the large castle that was visible on a rock structure in the center of town. Naruto was sure that it would be great to check out during daytime. The remainder of town consisted of gambling halls and arcades.

Since those were the only places still open, Naruto proceeded into one to dig up some more information on the so called Rogue Three.

"Hey kid, you look like a real risk taker. What says you to a little game?" invited one guy the moment Naruto entered.

Naruto frowned.

"No thanks, but I could use some help. I'm looking for someone," said Naruto.

"Oh yeah? Well, I may be able to help you out," offered the same guy while digging in his ear with his pinky.

"Really? Great!" said Naruto with a pleased smile. "What do you know about…?"

"Hang on a minute, kid. I didn't say I would tell you for free," said the guy with a sly smile.

Naruto didn't like the sound of that.

"Play with me," he held up some dice and a cup. "If you win, I'll tell you anything you need to know for free. But if I win, the information will be costly."

Naruto struck a thinking pose with a frown. Given his situation, he didn't really have anything to lose. Besides, if he lost and the price was too high, he could always try his luck elsewhere.

"Okay, name your game," agreed Naruto.

The gambler grinned.

"My man, you've made a wise decision. Okay, the game is call Han or Chou. Depending on the roll of the dice, an even number is called a Chou and an odd number is called a Han. If you guess right you win, got it?"

Naruto nodded and sat down before the man. He quickly begun shaking the cup about and slammed it down after a moment.

"Han or Chou?" he asked.

Naruto frowned.

"_Fox, what do you think?_" asked Naruto.

"_**It Han, no doubt about it!**_" replied the Kyuubi confidently.

Naruto smiled.

"I pick Chou," declared the blond.

If it could, the Kyuubi would've fell over.

"_**What the hell!?**_"

The gambler raised the cup. The roll had been even.

"Yeah!" cried Naruto while striking a muscle pose. "_Just as I predicted, your nine tails is an unlucky number after all! I read in a fortune cookie that nine would be my unlucky number this week so I knew anything you picked would be wrong!_"

"_**Don't get cute, brat!**_" fumed the Kitsune grumpily.

The gambler scratched his head and laughed.

"Lucky! Alright, what did you want to know?"

"I need the exact location of a place called Rogue Market," replied Naruto seriously.

The gambler gave a start.

"Are you serious? Why in the world would you want to go there? Don't tell me you're looking to buy some stolen goods."

"No, something really important was taken from me. I'm just going to get it back," replied Naruto darkly.

"Geez, you're better off forgetting about it, kid. Lots of hot blooded daredevils went to do the same thing. They never came back," said the gambler with his arms folded.

"Please. It's really important," beseeched Naruto determinedly.

The gambler sighed.

"Alright kid, it's your funeral. There's an underground tunnel inside of the castle. You'll find the door in the main chamber but it blends in pretty well with the floor so you'll need to search for it. From there, follow the tunnel to a clearing that's inaccessible by anything other than that tunnel. Rogue Market will be exactly fifty kilometers east of there. May Buddha have mercy on you."

Naruto stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, mister," said the grateful blond before leaving the shop…

* * *

Getting inside of the castle wasn't very difficult. The only obstacle was just a padlock to keep late comers out. It was easily dealt with via an exploding note. Honestly, Naruto was more concerned about the lack of security. It was shameful considering that the place was a tourist attraction. Either way, all that mattered was that Naruto had gotten inside the main chamber.

Finding the trapdoor was the hard part. True to the gambler's words, it blended in perfectly with the floor. The fact that it was night time didn't help matters any. Naruto had to fire up his chakra aura to illuminate the area enough for a decent search. After a few minutes, the blond stumbled across the handle and pulled the door open. The tunnel was pitch black and Naruto couldn't afford to waste anymore chakra. With a gulp, Naruto suppressed his chakra and ventured into the darkness…

Naruto mostly relied on feeling the wall as he traveled. It had been quite awhile since he had started and it didn't look like this tunnel was going to end anytime soon. Unlike the tunnel to the Dragon Clan's quarters, the ground was rough and bumpy causing Naruto to stumble more than once. Also, there weren't any unique torches to light the way. Lastly, the place was full of cobweb that felt tingly to the touch. In short, it was a plain old creepy tunnel. Naruto just hopped that there weren't any bats.

"_**Da dum, da dum, da dum…**_"

"_Dude! I don't need creepy music right now!_" snapped Naruto while rubbing some more web off of his face.

"_**You are so boring, kid! Lighten up, you and I both know that there's nothing down here otherwise we would sense it.**_" pointed out the fox in amusement.

"_I don't care! You're giving me the willies!_"

"_**Chicken boy.**_"

"_Dumb Fox!_"

"_**Sissy.**_"

"_Oh leave me alone!_" grumbled Naruto while trying his best not to lose his temper.

The Kyuubi snickered.

"_**I win again.**_"

Naruto was thankful that the tunnel finally came to an end. It had the bonus of shutting the Bijuu Lord up for a moment. The crescent moon was out, lighting up his surroundings somewhat. Naruto was in one really big plane with tall grass swaying in the breeze. Far in the distance on all sides was a ring of mountains.

Naruto could see why the tunnel was the only way to access this place. The mountains looked way too slippery to attempt climbing over. Naruto couldn't see Rogue Market at the moment, but he proceeded to follow the gambler's instructions and travel east.

The thick grass pushed against his every step making traveling a real chore. Still, Naruto wasn't going to give up until he couldn't walk anymore…

After a full hour of trekking, lights became visible over the horizon. Naruto clenched his fists in anticipation. The time to get his pendant back was drawing near. This was his driving force until he made just a few meters away from the Market. Naruto ducked down to conceal himself while looking about. Unlike the rest of the area, the grass around the market had been trimmed down in the shape of a wide circle. Hundreds of strong looking roughnecks and goons were patrolling the area with many of them being dressed in rags or thief clothes.

The weaker looking guys were standing behind stalls and stands while attempting to pedal off their goods. A handful of timid looking shoppers were glancing warily around as if expecting to be caught buying the stuff. Four wooden watch towers were stationed around the area with the watchmen sound asleep. Naruto suspected that this was the only reason why he hadn't already been spotted approaching. The only other place of interest was a large mansion that was extra tightly guarded.

Most of the things on sale were extremely rare or highly valuable. Exotic animals were no exception either. Naruto's face fell, it would take days to search all of the stalls in the place without getting caught. On top of that, the Gloss woman was nowhere in sight.

"_**What do we do now, brat?**_"

"_Well…I hadn't thought about that part yet,_" admitted Naruto with a sweat drop.

The Kitsune groaned.

"_**What kind of idiot goes through this much trouble without some kind of plan!?**_" cried the Fox.

"_I'm working on it! Just shut up and let me think for a minute!_" countered Naruto.

Kyuubi no Kitsune grumbled a bit but remained quite all the same. Naruto then begin analyzing the situation to the best of his ability. Something that was normally his weak point, but crucial at the moment. His supplies consisted of wires, several dozen kunai and shuriken, thirty exploding notes, medical herbs, a half full bottle of soldier pills, one surviving box of candy, his Bo staff, some smoke pellets, a rubber ball and the kite he had won. Against a town full of bandits, Naruto wasn't expecting to win a major battle with his current supplies. Stealth would have to do the trick, the problem was remaining unnoticed until he actually found the pendant.

"Okay, I hope this works," said Naruto while forming a seal. "Henge!"

In a poof, Naruto had transformed into Gloss. Quickly, he stood up and walked straight into town. The bandits immediately kneeled respectfully upon catching sight of him.

"Good evening, Gloss-sama!" they all greeted as one.

Naruto copied Gloss's wicked grin and shot a glance to the nearest bandit.

"You there! Come here for a minute!" ordered Naruto.

The goon stiffened and looked around before pointing to himself.

"Yeah you! I want you to be my escort!" said Naruto. "_Heh, this is working!_"

The goon blushed and quickly complied to Naruto's wishes.

"Where would you like to go, Gloss-sama?" asked the bandit shyly.

Apparently, Gloss was the object of beauty and power in this town. That being the case, as long as he didn't screw up Naruto had nothing but a safe trip to look forward to.

"Take me to a stand that deals in jewels," ordered Naruto.

"As you wish, Gloss-sama."

It didn't take very long for Naruto's guide to lead him to the requested location. The stand in question, was really shabby looking. It was run by a short and skinny guy that had most of his face hidden by wrappings. Naruto put on a serious look and frowned.

"You, did I give you a blue pendant earlier today?" asked Naruto coolly.

"No, I don't recall such a thing. Is there some jewel you wish to offer me?" asked the merchant with an intrigued look.

"No, I have no further interest in you," shot down an annoyed Naruto before facing his guide. "I want to go to another shop!"

Naruto was quite good at playing the role of a bad guy. Not once did anyone seem to suspect a thing. The next few shops they tried all yielded the same result. Naruto had a sinking suspicion that Gloss was still in possession of the pendant. That being said, he turned to his guide once more.

"Take me home," ordered Naruto.

The bandit frowned at this and bowed.

"My lady, there is still one last shop you haven't tried yet," said the bandit quietly.

Naruto grew intrigued at this.

"Very well, take me there!" ordered Naruto.

"By your command. Please follow me, Gloss-sama," requested the bandit.

The bandit lead Naruto to one side of the mansion. Naruto took note that the grass had been covered by a large board of wood. Most likely, something was being kept hidden beneath it. The bandit stopped and kneeled next to it.

"The merchant is down below," said Naruto's guide before lifting and sliding the board aside.

A long staircase was uncovered. It was dark, so Naruto could only see the first seven steps. Still, if there was even the slightest chance that his pendant was down there then he had no fear. Without so much as a second glance at the bandit, Naruto begun descending the stone steps. Naruto had just reached step twenty when the bandit begun to snicker.

"Baka. Who do you think you're fooling?"

Naruto spun around and glared.

"What are you talking about?!" demanded Naruto with growing dread.

"You're not Gloss-sama. The real Gloss-sama never associates with anyone except our Boss. You should've done your homework before impersonating one of the Rogue Three!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. He had gotten caught red handed and judging by the smirk on his face, this guy knew since the beginning.

"Heh, so long, bastard!" cried the goon before pulling a hidden lever.

The stairs beneath Naruto, collapsed to form a slide. Naruto screamed the whole way down to wherever this thing was taking him.

"_**I should've known you would get us caught!**_" wailed the Kyuubi.

"Shut up!" was all Naruto managed to say before he landed with a grunt on his butt.

The hole he had fell out of quickly sealed itself before Naruto could gather his bearings. Naruto warily stood up and returned back to his normal form. Once done, the blond surveyed his surroundings. The area was damp and the only sources of light came from both a torch and the moonlight beaming in through a barred window. The wall was made of solid stone and a few metal cuff links were chained here and there. A door made of solid steel was the only exit other than the mostly useless slide Naruto had came in from.

Naruto groaned.

"Just my luck! I'm in a bloody dungeon!" cried Naruto just for the sake of hearing a sound.

Naruto moodily flopped onto his butt to try and think of a way out of this mess.

"Naruto?" came a familiar voice.

Naruto glanced up in surprise and turned towards the source. Someone was standing in the shadowy corner of the room. Slowly, the person advanced into the light. Naruto gave a start of surprise.

"What are you doing here…Elaine?!"

* * *

Ooo a cliffhanger. XD Hey guys, Aninene is back once again! I had so much fun writing this chapter that I don't know where to begin! I decided to make life a bit harder for our hero and send him on a special mission of his own! ;3 You've seen it guys, Naruto no longer trains for himself. Instead, it's always for the purpose of protecting someone important to him. Naruto and Elaine have started dating, but they're not officially a couple just yet. XD On top of that, a new criminal syndicate has appeared! One last thing, that may not have been noticeable, the Kyuubi is beginning to respect Naruto more. It's still sarcastic to him though. XD

Doki Doki, so let's start the reviews!

Digi fan: I know, nothing else I tried complimented my original plan. I really wanted Sarutobi to live but it had to be done. At least Enma got to help out a bit more this time around. :D

zerodragon: Yeah, it was the clash of titans out there! XD Because Naruto has gotten so strong, Sasuke is starting to get jealous. More than once, he was forced to acknowledge Naruto as the stronger ninja during the fic. This made him a little emo, lol. XD Yep, looking thru all 200 of my Dragon Lord techniques the sword seemed perfect for the part. :D Good news, I will definitely be continuing the rest of the Chuunin exam. It burned me up when they stopped it completely in the Manga and Anime. I wonder who would've won. :3

The Great Valley Guardian: I couldn't agree with you more. Neji was over the top with emo issues and Gaara…well…Gaara was just being Gaara, lol. I'm super happy that you liked the Hokage duel! I had mad fun writing it! XD

CodeKyuubi: Great! Okay, once Lola takes a quick look at the next chapter I'll send it to you as an attachment. Welcome to the team :D

cooltony101neo: Truthfully, I had to nerf both Xi and Yondaime a bit since they were too strong. Had I let them fight at 100 percent, both the Third and Sagitario would've been toast and Orochimaru would've got away with both of his arms, lol. Between Xi and the Fourth, they're about even except Xi is a bit faster. Genmaru has become the container for a creature that will blow your mind, I even impressed myself thinking of using it. XD Ah, a major question. As a hint, Naruto's odds of joining the clan are looking really good right now. Xi is nineteen at this point in time. A young force to be reckoned with. XD

Darcaine: Yay, it makes me happy hearing that you liked it! Yep, the excitement is going to reach an all time high once again! XD This time, it's a dance to the death against the fearsome Rogue Three! I'm also looking forward to your next chapter. :D

jbalman: Devil sure has his work cut out for him. If Sasuke chooses to submit to it, suffering awaits everyone in his path! Muwahaha! The question is, will I let him? (Doctor Evil Pose) Poor Tsunade, won't know what to do! XD Elaine will get more quality time with Naruto during the quest to find Tsunade, but who knows what might happen. (Other than me, lol) That sounded like something Kakashi would say, lol. No worries, I'm in the same boat. XD

Ant Crown: LOL, how long did it take to get thru it all? Believe me, I've learned my lesson when it comes to Cannon. (Sweat drop) But, I'm happy that you've enjoyed the new developments. Many more changes will occur as the fic continues :D

Love the power of ranking!

Naruto - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 50/100

Sasuke - C Minus Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100

Sasuke - C Rank using Sharingan

Sasuke - D Rank with fractured wrists

Jiraiya - Possibly A Plus or S Rank

Itachi - A Rank

Itachi - S Rank using Mangekyo Sharingan

Kisame - A Rank

Kurenai - B Minus Rank

Gai - B Plus Rank

Asuma - B Rank

Kakashi - B Plus Rank

Kakashi - A Minus Rank using Sharingan

Gloss - C Plus Rank

Naruto's training with the Rasengan has been interrupted by this sudden development. Can he break out of prison and reclaim his pendant? More importantly, why is Elaine in captivity? Lastly, who are the other two leaders of the Rogue Three? These questions will soon be answered in the next exciting installment! You won't want to miss it :3


	17. His and Her Circumstances! Elaine

**His and Her Circumstances!**

**The Gap, The Reunion and The Revelation!**

Elaine wasn't completely surprised to see Naruto in the underground prison they now shared. Giving the trouble she had went through, Naruto most likely had experienced something similar. Thinking back on it, this mess began just one week after Naruto had left town with Jiraiya…

* * *

Elaine and Domino were working together to help with the repairs to an elderly man's home. Domino kept shooting Elaine suspicious glances while they worked. As of late, Elaine was becoming absent minded a lot and it was during these times that her cheeks became rosy. At first, Domino though that Elaine had caught a bug from working too hard. Such a thought was soon dashed, due to the dreamy smiles she wore more frequently.

"Alright, what's going on!? You've been acting weird for a while now!" cried Domino.

This jarred Elaine back to reality and resulted in an embarrassed laugh.

"There's nothing wrong, I just feel happy today!" answered Elaine hastily.

Elaine was better off not answering Domino at all. The lavender eyed girl's suspicions tripled and she puffed her cheeks out with a frown.

"Come on! You can tell me!" begged Domino.

Elaine sweat dropped.

"How many more houses do we have left to patch up?" asked Elaine in a desperate attempt at a change of topic.

"You're avoiding the question! Come on, it can't be that bad!" pressed Domino.

Domino grinned mischievously.

"I wonder…it wouldn't have anything to do with Naruto would it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" lied Elaine while forcing her attention back to the repair job.

"Hah, I knew it! You guys went out on a date right? Tell me all about it!" requested Domino excitedly.

Elaine sighed and smiled in amusement. There was simply no chance of keeping a secret from Domino. That being said, Elaine gave a detailed recap of that evening.

"I had a really great time," she concluded happily.

"Aw, that's so cute! I'm really happy for you!" gushed Domino before grinning wolfishly. "It sure took you two long enough!"

"Hey, cut that out! It was only one date so nothing is certain yet!" cried a flushed Elaine.

Domino seemed to think otherwise.

"It won't take long. Any day now and you guys will be like peanut butter and jelly."

The friends laughed at that. All the while, Elaine was unconsciously fingering her pendant…

* * *

Sakura faithfully sat besides Sasuke's hospital bed. She was as still as a statue as she gently placed her hand on top of Sasuke's. Sakura had been like this ever since Gai had brought him back to the village. The Uchiha had been so pale when Sakura first saw him that she almost mistook him for dead. Whoever had did this to her beloved Sasuke-kun was incredibly strong. Once more, the tears begun to flow.

"Sasuke-kun…please…open your eyes," murmured Sakura.

As expected, the Uchiha didn't stir. Sakura felt her heart breaking all over again. Once again, Sakura was helpless and completely alone…

* * *

Elaine and Domino had finished up a few hours later with a majority of the house being fully repaired. The owner of the place rewarded them kindly with a heaping plate full of cookies. Naturally, Domino's addiction to sweets caused her to eat most of them. Elaine didn't mind since her thoughts were elsewhere at the moment.

"Domino…have you heard any word from Genmaru yet?" asked Elaine worriedly.

Domino's face faltered a bit.

"No, he's still hasn't come out," replied Domino sadly.

Genmaru hadn't spoken to them very much since the Hokage duel. These past few days, Genmaru had locked himself up in the Sector A temple and was constantly training for hours on ends. The few times they did see him yielded nothing short of a quick nod before eating a meal and returning to the temple to resume training.

"You'd think he was preparing for a major battle or something. I hope nothing bad happens," voiced Elaine worriedly.

Domino sighed and took a bite out of another cookie to make herself feel better. She could easily guess part of the reason why Genmaru was training so hard.

"It's almost that time of year again," murmured the lavender eyed girl.

Elaine's eyes widened in recognition.

"Genmaru is going to attend the ceremony?" asked Elaine.

Domino nodded in confirmation.

"I see. It was to be expected I suppose. He should be able to do it now that he has 'it' sealed within him," commented Elaine thoughtfully.

Domino polished off the rest of her cookie and blew the crumbs off of her fingers. She then smiled confidently at Elaine.

"Of course he'll do it! Sure, nobody else has been able to for nearly five years but this is Genmaru we're talking about!" said Domino with flames of support in her eyes.

"Yep, you're absolutely right," agreed Elaine with a smile.

A gentle breeze picked up at that moment and both girls closed their eyes to enjoy the feel of it. The wind was more or less telling them that everything was going to be fine. Elaine was the first to open her eyes and she shifted her gaze to the beautifully radiating full moon. Somewhere, Elaine was sure that Naruto was enjoying the same sight…

* * *

Shortly afterwards, Elaine and Domino had parted ways for the evening. Elaine used her alone time to travel to her favorite place in Fire Country. It was the perfect night for a walk along the beach, as the gentle songs of the waves were quite magical.

Elaine removed her sandals and sighed contently as the waves gently washed over her feet. Elaine had walked for just a few minutes before stopping and gazing far beyond the sea. Somewhere over those waves, her parents were waiting for her. The thought was both comforting and peaceful. This was further enhanced by the wonderful ocean breezes that came with each passing of a wave.

From a bystander's point of view, Elaine honestly looked like a goddess of the sea. Her hair elegantly swayed with every ocean breath and her serene eyes shone in an almost ethereal way. Elaine smiled in the same manner as someone who had discovered love for the first time. It was obvious that she enjoyed the sea very much. Even the gentle swaying of her clothes held a fine beauty in its own right. Once more, that misty green glow surrounded her as she fondly held her pendant.

Elaine sighed after a few minutes had passed.

"Why are you following me?" asked Elaine without turning around.

"You have something I want," replied a smooth and cool voice.

"Who are you?" asked Elaine while brushing her hair aside and turning around.

The person she saw was a man with long silver hair and amber eyes. He was wearing a snow white kimono with a long scarf draped around his neck. Two short swords were strapped to his side but he didn't appear to have any other ninja equipment on him. His skin was almost just as pale as his clothing and his face lacked emotion.

"My name is Kurama," he said after a moment. "Its been a long time…Hime."

Elaine frowned in confusion. Kurama merely closed his eyes coolly.

"Of course, you wouldn't remember me. It has been nine years since we last met."

His eyes opened and narrowed.

"Give the jewel to me and I'll spare your life."

Elaine turned back towards the sea.

"Please, if you don't want to get beaten I suggest you leave," said Elaine quietly.

"I can't do that," replied Kurama while drawing one of his swords. "Since you will not give the jewel to me, I'll have to take it by force," he slowly advanced.

Elaine sighed while forming a seal. To try and fight Elaine near a large body of water was suicide in the making. From the ocean, hundreds of watery spheres rose up. Kurama didn't seem concerned about them though. He raised his sword overhead until the moonlight shone completely upon the slightly sparkling blade. The spheres begun firing thousands of rounds at him from all directions.

"Getsuken," murmured Kurama before swinging his sword in a wide arc…

* * *

"Elaine!"

Sagitario jolted from his sleep with a gasp. His body was drenched in sweat and his breathing was heavy. The dream he just witnessed had been troubling. During the dream, some alien force beyond human nature had attacked his student while he had been forced to watch.

Sagitario narrowed his eyes as he glanced out his window. Something was wrong, Sagitario could feel it with every fiber of his being. With a wince, he stood up and approached the window for a better look. The moon was slowing becoming blood red.

"Damn it!" hissed Sagitario before opening the window.

Quickly, the ANBU captain leaped outside and took off running as fast as he could. Elaine was in terrible danger…

* * *

Kurama was surprising skilled at defending himself with his sword. His sword arm was little more than a blur as he deflected every watery shot fired at him. Each time he did, his sword seemed to glow brighter and brighter. At some point, Kurama pointed his sword towards the moon.

"Tenken no Getsu, Luna Kai!"

Elaine didn't like the sound of that and quickly begun forming seals. Kurama's technique had caused the moon to turn blood red and fire a thin beam directly upon him. It condensed and became focused around his sword. He then swung it at Elaine causing a massive blade of pure energy to hit the ground in front of and circle around her in the form of a ring. The wall of white energy begun to slowly shrink in an effort to crush the blue haired girl.

"Fuyugomori!" cried Elaine.

Water seeped out of the sand beneath her feet and engulfed her. The water then turned into a protective cage of solid ice before shattering into a mass of snowflakes. Elaine was nowhere in sight. Kurama narrowed his eyes at the sight. A kunai was pressed to his throat from behind.

"Please leave," said Elaine quietly.

"Impressive. You've gotten stronger that I expected," said Kurama surprisingly calmly for someone with a knife at his throat. "The ice was a distraction for you to be able to transform into and travel as water, right? You're that insistent on protecting that gem?"

"Leave," repeated Elaine a bit more firmly.

"Very well," replied Kurama while sheathing his sword.

Elaine slowly backed away but was still fully ready to strike if he should attempt anything. Without a word, Kurama strode pass his target. He paused a few feet behind Elaine.

"I will have that jewel soon, Hime. By now, my comrades will be preparing to take the other one from that boy," stated Kurama coolly.

Elaine's eyes widened at that revelation before hardening.

"If you hurt him…" begun Elaine darkly.

"You will be powerless to do anything about it," cut in Kurama. "The only reason I'm letting you live right now is because of your protector over there."

Elaine followed Kurama's gaze to find Sagitario standing a few feet away and breathing heavily. His eyes were narrowed dangerously and he had a rose in his hand. Most likely, the ANBU captain was prepared to use a technique if Kurama tried anything.

"Sagitario-sensei…" begun Elaine worriedly.

Kurama glanced over his shoulders towards Elaine.

"Pray that you are not alone when our paths cross again," warned Kurama before becoming engulfed in wind and feathers.

Once he was gone, Sagitario slumped weakly into a kneeling position.

"Sagitario-sensei!" cried Elaine in alarm while rushing to his side.

"Elaine…you're not hurt are you?" asked Sagitario tiredly.

"I'm fine, but what were you thinking!? You're in no condition to be moving around! Your body hasn't fully healed yet!" cried Elaine in both worry and anger at the fact that Sagitario caused himself further harm.

Sagitario merely smiled tiredly at his subordinate.

"As long as you're safe, it doesn't matter. Besides, 'he' isn't here to protect you right now so I'll have to keep an eye on you for him," teased Sagitario before wincing in pain while grasping his stomach.

"Sensei!"

"Then again…I may have overdone it…" gasped Sagitario before passing out and slumping on Elaine's shoulder.

From what Elaine could tell, Sagitario had just earned himself a few extra days in the hospital…

* * *

Sagitario had been safely returned to the hospital a few hours later. The medical staff were quite apologetic towards Elaine and constantly commented that they hadn't expected him to sneak out. Anko was livid once she found out about it and was threatening to do something unpleasant to the medical staff if they didn't put bars on the windows.

"We're sorry, Anko-sama! It's just that our hands have been tied trying to stabilize Uchiha Sasuke's condition!" stammered one of the medics fearfully.

"Honestly, he's lucky that Gai-sama got him here as quickly as he did. Ten minutes later and it would've been problematic. They say he took a major mental attack from Uchiha Itachi, but Uzumaki Naruto prevented the worse of the damage," added another.

Elaine's eyes grew wide at that. She knew Sasuke had been admitted to the hospital, but nobody informed her that Naruto had played a part in it. Her worrying doubled and she withdrew deep into her thoughts. Most troubling of all, Kurama's declarations echoed in her mind constantly. Whoever his companions were, they were after not only her but Naruto as well. All she knew was that she had to warn Naruto somehow.

"Are you alright, Elaine?" asked Anko.

"Huh? Oh, yes," replied Elaine with a somewhat forced smile.

"Oh, that's good. You were spacing out for a moment," said Anko. "Did something happen while you two were at the beach?"

"I'm not completely sure," replied Elaine thoughtfully. "Um, do you know where I can find Gai-sensei?"

Anko sweat dropped.

"I sure do, but I'm not sure if you really want to see him right now," said Anko with an embarrassed look.

"Why's that?" asked Elaine curiously.

Anko sighed…

* * *

Elaine found herself entering the academy, where an after school remedial course was in session. The instructor was none other than Gai himself. Lee stood nearby as his assistant.

"Yosh! The best way to intimidate your foes during Shinobi combat is to invent a youthful pose! Show it in your attitude, right Lee?"

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" replied Lee vigorously.

"Indeed! Now, Lee and I shall demonstrate! Who wants to volunteer?" asked Gai while striking the nice guy pose.

"I do, Gai-sensei!" volunteered one kid that was dressed just like Lee.

In fact, everyone in the room were wannabe mini Gais. Elaine sweat dropped at the sight.

"Yosh! I sense very youthful energy within you! Right, Lee?"

"Hai!" replied Lee with gusto.

The kid advanced to the front of the class and waited patiently for Gai's demonstration.

"Okay! The secret is all in how you move your body! And when you move your body, just remember these four phrases if you lack confidence! Lee!"

Lee raised his arms into the air and took a calming breath. He then started doing a groovy dance.

"I like to move it move it! I like to move it move it! I like to move it move it! Ya like to…"

"MOVE IT!" cried Gai.

Lee then went into a super charged spin and struck the nice guy pose with such dazzling teeth that the kid was blinded and fell over. Gai let loose a jolly laugh.

"Well done, Lee! Your foes will have a tough time fighting you!" praised Gai cheerily. "Just as I expected from my number one pupil!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Elaine sighed and knocked on the door.

"Ah, a guest!" cried Gai in a booming tone that had no business belonging to a Shinobi.

"Elaine-san, how are you?" asked Lee.

"I'm fine," replied Elaine with a smile.

"Yosh! Such health is a product of youth!" cried Gai. "So, Elaine-san, did you come to study with Lee and I?"

"Not quite, but I would like a word with you, Gai-sensei," requested Elaine.

"Oh? Well alright then, let me just wrap up here," said Gai before facing the class. "Homework! Practice your intimidating poses and show us what you got tomorrow night! Burn with the passionate powers of youth!"

"Hai!" chorused the class as one before getting up and filing out of the room.

Gai wiped a tear from his eye.

"Such youth! I'm truly moved!"

Both he and Lee begun sobbing at that. Elaine sweat dropped. After a moment, Gai and Lee dried their eyes and faced Elaine with creepily identical grins.

"What did you need to see me about?" asked Gai.

Elaine grew serious.

"You saw Naruto when you brought back Sasuke, right? Please, where was he going?" asked Elaine.

Gai's face became troubled while Lee glanced curiously back and forth between them.

"He went with Jiraiya-sama to find someone," revealed Gai after a moment.

"Who? Where?" fired Elaine in rapid session.

"One of the Densetsu no Sannin, Tsunade. I don't know much beyond that, but they were traveling east when I last saw them," replied Gai seriously.

"Did something happen, Elaine-san?" asked Lee.

"It's Naruto. Someone really dangerous is after him so I have to go warn him. Please Gai-sensei, is there anything else you can tell me at all!?" beseeched Elaine with Oscar level worry on her face.

Gai rubbed his head with an apologetic frown.

"Sorry, but that's all I know," repeated Gai.

"I see. Well, thanks anyway Gai-sensei. I'll just have to find him myself," said Elaine with respectful bow and a grateful smile.

Elaine turned in preparation of leaving.

"Wait, Elaine-san!" called Lee.

Elaine turned to see what Lee wanted with a curious expression.

"I want to go with you! If Naruto-kun is in trouble, then I must help! Otherwise I won't be able to fight with my rival anymore!"

Lee struck the nice guy pose. Elaine was a momentarily surprised by this, but she understood.

"Okay, lets go!" agreed Elaine with a pleased smile.

Gai smiled proudly at his pupil.

"Well done, Lee! Such youthful passion is truly beautiful!" Gai dug into his pouch and produced a gate pass. "Here, use this and you'll be able to leave the village."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei! But aren't you coming with us?" asked Lee.

"Yes, but I have a few errands to run first. So you two can start without me and I'll catch up later," replied Gai.

"Sir!" cried Lee with a salute.

"Understood!" added Elaine.

With that, the group parted ways to get ready for the trip…

* * *

Elaine, Lee and Domino had set out on the road a few hours later and were en-route to Naruto's location. Domino had heard the news from Elaine and excitedly begged to tag along. Naturally, Domino got her way and ended up joining the party. Elaine used this time to fill her companions in on what was happening.

"So basically, these guys are after your pendant for some reason?" asked Lee.

"Yes, but I couldn't tell you why," replied Elaine.

"But aside from that, Kurama seems to know you. Yet you don't remember him at all?" asked Domino.

"No. If we ever have met, then I don't recall his face," replied Elaine.

Everyone grew thoughtful. Domino was the first to speak.

"Well, whoever he is, since he attacked Elaine that makes him our enemy too. We'll just have to teach him a lesson when we see him!" declared Domino with a confident smile.

Lee nodded.

"It may come to that. It's a good opportunity to see how my moves will measure up," said Lee with a confident smile of his own.

Elaine merely nodded in agreement, but deep down she wasn't sure…

* * *

About thirty minutes later, the group had passed through Otafuku City and were making their way to the town Naruto was staying in. That was when trouble reared its head. Elaine halted her comrades with her hand and warily glanced around.

"They're here," she whispered.

"Not very good at hiding their presences are they?" pointed out Domino with a calm smile.

"It's possible that they no longer feel the need to mask their location. We shouldn't lower our guard," advised Lee.

"Your friend is right," came a singsong voice.

A large gust of wind appeared in front of the group that caused them to shield their eyes from the dust it was kicking up. When it finally died down, a single man was standing before them. Everyone paled at the sight of him.

He was wearing a dressy outfit consisting of a long sleeved blue shirt with a matching tie. His slacks were tan and went well with his sandals. He was wearing brown leather gloves to complete the look. His hair was long, wild and a pinkest-brown color. One eye was green while the other was blue. On his face was a goofy grin that hinted at insanity. The man was slightly hunched over. Lastly, his skin was way too pale to be normal.

"Hello hello hello! Are you all prepared to enjoy my show?" asked the oddball with a hyena laugh.

Domino screamed.

"It's a freaky clown!" she wailed.

Lee and Elaine sweat dropped at his looks. Truthfully, they were thinking the same thing.

"Heeheeheehee, I'm Panti of the Rogue Three!" he cried while striking a bunch of complex poses.

For the longest, nobody moved. Domino then broke out into laughter while holding her sides.

"His name is Panties!" cried Domino between laughs with the translation for Panti.

Panti started dancing about while crackling.

"Kurama-san didn't take that gem from you yet, hee? Panti will just have to do it instead!"

Domino's laughing redoubled when he said his name. Even Lee's cheeks were starting to puff out as he tried not to laugh. Panti's grin widened and he pulled a chain from behind him. The weapon had a spiked scythe attached to the end of it. Panti twirled it about while dancing around excitedly.

"Panti, Panti, Panti!" he chanted as he did this.

Everyone assumed battle ready poses, although Domino kept snickering and saying panties. Panti rushed them first with surprising nimbleness as he speedily zigzagged about. Lee led the counter charge.

"Konoha…"

Panti hurled his chain forward before Lee could start his attack. The mini Gai rolled aside to avoid it. It was a good thing too, since the impact point instantly eroded away. Everyone shot Panti's weapon a curious look. The scythe was surrounded by an aura of pale gray chakra.

"Panti missed, hee!" said the bandit with an insane grin.

Everyone stiffened. "Panties" was a lot more dangerous than his name let on. The man named after lacy underwear recalled his weapon and grinned.

"Panti will make you all disappear unless you hand over the pendant."

Panti held out his hand expectantly. All he got was a Senbon hurled at him by Elaine. Panti hopped back to avoid it and narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Consider that my answer. Go ahead and call your friends out of hiding," said Elaine while holding up a water ward.

Panti didn't bother heeding Elaine's cool request.

"Typical. The victim always wants to do it the hard way," rang out the voice of Gloss.

Everyone turned towards it to find her standing back to back with Kurama in a tree. They surveyed the group with expressions of mild interest while Panti grinned. The others tensed for the inevitable conflict that would ensue.

"Oh? What's with those scary faces?" asked Gloss with mocked worry. "You don't really think that you can beat us, do you? Cute kids like you should stay home."

"I should say the same about old ladies!" quipped Domino.

A vein appeared in Gloss's temple and she shot Domino a very dangerous looking smile.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you," advised Gloss coolly.

"Enough, Gloss. Our only objective is to obtain that jewel by any means necessary," interrupted Kurama with his eyes closed coolly. "Panti, see to it that our goal is met."

"Tsk, I almost feel sorry for those poor children," commented Gloss with a smirk.

Panti just grinned stupidly while advancing upon the group. He paused a few feet away and begun doing a bizarre half-dance/half-stumble. Domino smiled like a kid watching a clown perform at a carnival. Lee was carefully studying Panti's movements for any weaknesses. Lastly, Elaine kept a wary eye on Gloss and Kurama. Judging by how relaxed Kurama and Gloss looked, they had no intention of joining the battle. Immediately, Elaine signaled her comrades to end the fight quickly with a three on one assault.

Domino looked skeptical that such an oddball could be dangerous enough for such a battle plan. Still, she nodded in half-hearted approval of the plan. Lee on the other hand grew thoughtful for a moment before coming to a decision. Domino and Elaine were just about to start attacking when Lee halted them with his arm. Lee then stepped forward and assumed the initiative granting pose.

"Gai-sensei always said that three opponents against one is a poor test of ones youth power. If it's alright with you, I would like to fight with him alone," declared Lee.

"What!? Hey, that's not fair!!" protested Domino.

Elaine was also oppose to Lee's rash course of action.

"Lee, think about what you're doing. These guys are a lot stronger than they let on. It's in our best interest to fight as a group and beat these guys quickly before they start attacking us," pointed out Elaine logically. "Also, we don't know what kind of attacks they'll use. Fighting one on one is too risky!"

"I understand your logic, Elaine-san. I'm sorry about this but please let me be the one to test my abilities," requested Lee seriously.

"But…" begun Elaine.

Without a doubt the girl's worrying, or in Domino's case, disappointment was at an all time high. Also, going by the tone of Lee's voice, the mini Gai had no intention of changing his mind about this.

"Please," said Lee quietly over his shoulder.

Reluctantly, the girls nodded.

"Alright, but if anything goes wrong…" said Elaine with a meaningful glance that promised she would interfere if the situation got bad.

"You've better not lose," added Domino with a slight frown paired with an amused smile.

Lee nodded and flashed the nice guy pose. He then smirked at the patiently waiting Panti.

"Since you did not attack me earlier while my guard was down, I take it you too desire a great fight! Please start whenever you're ready," invited Lee.

Panti chuckled and begun twirling his chain weapon.

"Heeheeheehee, here I come!" declared the Underwear Man before dashing forward.

The moment he got in range, Lee leaped forward for a flying snap kick. However, Panti took to the air surprisingly quickly. Panti kicked off from the branch of an overhead tree and hurled his chain at Lee. Lee immediately performed several back flips and vaulted into the air on the last one. Lee quickly hurled a swarm of shuriken at the 'Fruit of the Looms' man. With a storm of laugher, Panti expertly used his chain to knock each star away as he gracefully twirled it about himself.

Both fighters touched down and assumed stances. Panti twirled his scythe while grinning in a very 'Joker' like manner. Without warning, Panti vanished in a cloud of smoke! Panti was nowhere in sight when the cloud cleared. Lee looked stunned and rapidly glanced about for his foe.

"Behind you, Lee!" cried Elaine in alarm.

Lee's reaction was instant. The mini Gai rolled aside just in time to avoid an unwanted cut from behind. Lee turned to find Panti standing in a tall tree behind him. Lee was forced to dodge nonstop barrages from Panti's chain as he attack over and over again. Panti was laughing madly the whole time. At some point, Lee caught the chain and gave it a yank. Panti cried out as he fell out of the tree to land with a grunt on his stomach. Lee smirked and rushed him just as Panti scrambled to his feet and did the same.

"_Naruto-kun…one day I too will surpass Neji but, lately I've come to view you as my one true rival. Currently, I'm not strong enough to defeat you yet. So in order to prepare for you, I want fight and defeat the strongest fighters around. Please watch me, now is the time I adhere to my own ninja ways._"

Lee warily watched Panti's every move as he speedily zigzagged about. Once in range, Panti hurled his scythe at Lee. Lee merely leaned his head aside and hopped forward to close the small distance between them. Lee landed in a handstand and swung his legs forward into his signature move.

"Konoha Senpuu!" cried Lee.

Panti quickly ducked under the opening kick and took to the air before Lee could swing around for his follow up. Lee smirked and vanished in a flash of speed. Despise his permanent grin, Panti's eyes widened in surprise as Lee appeared directly behind him.

"Take this!" cried Lee before scoring a kick to Panti's cheek that sent him flying.

Panti let loose what sounded like a cross between a howl and yodel that would've made 'Goofy' proud. Quickly Lee hurled a wave of shuriken after him. The stars hit home in Panti's back causing him to cry out before going up in smoke. When it cleared, a star covered log sailed through the air in Panti's place. Lee touched down and reassumed his battle stance while warily looking about for his opponent. A sudden shadow above him caused Lee to quickly look up. Panti was sailing towards him with his scythe reared back for the hit.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!! I've got you now!" cried Panti.

Seeing that dodging would be impossible at such close range, Lee opted instead to attack. Quickly, Lee leaned back and kicked up into Panti's chin. The oddball groaned as his attack fell short since Lee had a longer reach with his legs. Panti sailed straight up into the air with a string of blood exiting his mouth.

"Now to finish it!" said Lee as his bandage wrappings begun to unravel.

The mini Gai high jumped after Panti to score kick after kick into his stomach. Higher and higher they rose into the air with each kick until a thirty foot drop was beneath them. Finally, Lee used his speed to move behind Panti.

"It would seem that you're in need of more training," said Lee as his bandage wrappings begun to bind his foe.

Panti groaned under the discomfort of Lee's constrictive wrappings. Lee then begun spinning at dizzying speeds as the two fighters freefell.

"Get him, Lee!" cheered Domino excitedly.

Even Elaine's doubts were melting away in the wake of Lee's finishing move. She clenched her fist worriedly while willing Lee's technique to succeed.

"Omote Renge!"

With a loud boom, a wall of dust rose into the air upon impact. Lee leaped out of the cloud and touched down in a crouched position. For a moment, Lee paused to catch his breath. He then glanced towards Domino and Elaine and struck the nice guy pose. The dust cleared immediately after that showing a five foot crater. Panti was laying face down and immobile.

"YEAH!!" cheered Domino excitedly.

"That was awesome, Lee!" added Elaine before shooting Gloss and Kurama a wary glance. "_Still, we're not in the clear yet._"

Gloss sudden let loose her annoying laugh.

"Wow, who would've guessed! These little kids are stronger than they look! Wouldn't you agree, Kurama-senpai?" asked Gloss in mocked appraisal.

Kurama's cool tone and posture didn't change.

"All I see are two fools and a spoiled princess," replied Kurama.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" roared Domino with flames in her eyes.

Gloss laughed again, much to the annoyance of the others. She then pointed at the crater.

"Take a look over there, kid," she said.

The group did so to find Panti struggling to his feet. Every gasped as he stood up and stumbled a bit. Slowly, Panti raised his head and grinned with trickles of blood leaking from the corners of his mouth.

"Here's Kinney!" cried Panti.

Everyone's expression became comical as they cried out in alarm. Panti started laughing like a nutcase at that before forming a seal. For just a moment, dust rings erupted from around his feet. Panti then calmly advanced on the group until he cleared the crater.

"I wasn't expecting to have to use 'it' to defeat you. You guys should feel honored," said Panti.

He stopped a few feet away and hungrily licked his teeth while clenching his fists by his sides. Panti's hair slowly became even more spiky than before and his grin faded as he straightened up to his full height. Suddenly, Panti no longer seemed like an insane fighter. Everyone could sense the enormous amount of power radiating from his body even though he showed no signs of molding chakra.

"All of you…come at me," said Panti in a surprisingly deeper voice.

The group stiffened. Something was very strange about this man and from the looks of things, they were about to find out what. Although he was breathing hard from his attack, Lee reassumed his battle stance.

"Then let us continue!" suggested Lee determinedly.

Although Lee said it, Panti could tell that the mini Gai was rapidly approaching his limit. Regardless, the former clown raised his hands in an inviting pose. A glint appeared in Lee's eyes at the fact that Panti was giving Lee a free shot at him. As quick as a bullet, Lee took to the air in a dazzling array of aerobics. Gravity seized Lee and the mini Gai came crashing down with a brutal overhead kick towards Panti's head.

The fighting clown only just managed to raise his arms in time to block the kick. Still, Panti grunted a bit when the ground around his feet cracked from the force. Lee boosted off of Panti's arms before he could react and pulled a pair of black Nunchaku out of his leg warmers the moment he touched down. With a smirk, Lee twirled the weapon about in a very Bruce Lee like fashion!

Everyone marveled at the sight with "what in the world" looks.

"Since when has Lee carried around a pair of Nunchaku?" asked Domino with Elaine's exact thoughts.

Panti charged at that moment, drawing everyone's attention back to the fight. Once in range, Panti lashed out with an extremely powerful punch that Lee ducked under. Domino and Elaine could tell that it would've been quite a hit due to the wind they felt even from where they were standing. Lee hopped back warily as Panti swung again. Lee merely jumped up and landed on his moving arm. The mini Gai then vaulted over Panti's head and touched down behind him while twirling his Nunchaku.

Panti turned around only to get smacked in the face by one of the metal bars. Panti groaned a bit and quickly attempted to take Lee's head off with a highly destructive kick. Once again, Lee ducked it and sharply struck nerves in the back of Panti's leg with his Nunchaku. The super powered clown cried out as he fell to land with a grunt on his back. All that power was useless in the wake of Lee's speed!

"I'm not going to hold back anymore! Here I go!" cried Lee while kneeling and giving his leg warmers a sharp tug.

Like bullets in a revolver, several iron bars shot out of them into the air. The bars came crashing down into the ground with so much force, that several dozen craters littered the ground! Lee had updated his weights again! Everyone's eyes were comically bulging from their sockets. To say Lee had gotten stronger was an understatement!

Panti rose to a half crouched position with beads of sweat rolling down his nervous looking face. It didn't help his nerves any when Lee pulled a second set of Nunchaku out of his pouch! The mini Gai twirled them about himself in the complete definition of cool. That is, until he accidentally bonked himself on the head with one of them. Lee woozily wobbled for a moment before recovering with a shake of his head. Panti couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

His chuckle turned into a groan of pain when Lee vanished at even higher levels of speed than before! Panti hit the ground and rolled several times before catching himself on his hands and knees. Panti had no sooner stood back up when Lee reappeared behind him. Panti reeled from the blow Lee had landed beforehand.

"Yeah! Go, Lee!" cheered Domino excitedly as the mini Gai slapped Panti around some more.

Lee finally reappeared a few feet away and begun to attach his Nunchaku together until they formed a large Rokushakubo! Lee shot towards Panti while twirling his new weapon. Panti had no time to react at all. Lee hit home with a powerful golf swing that propelled Panti straight up into the air like a rocket! Lee shot after him even faster than that.

Panti was wincing in pain and his eyes grew fearful when Lee reappeared directly above him with his staff already in motion! With a battle cry, Lee smashed Panti directly in the guts. Panti dropped like a rock back to ground level and smashed with a loud BOOM right into the ground. A huge cloud of dust kicked up from the crater that Lee had no doubt created with his brutal attack.

Lee touched down in front of the crater lightly in a combat pose and smirked.

"That should've had an impact!" declared Lee with a dazzling grin.

"Whoo Hoo!" cheered Domino while jumping up and down and waving her arms in celebration.

"Wow! Lee is amazing!" commented Elaine in awe.

For once, even Kurama was stunned. He and Gloss stared at Lee with intrigued eyes.

"_This boy…could he possibly be able to defeat even 'him?' Just how strong is he?_" mused Kurama darkly. "_Regardless, nobody has ever been able to defeat Panti's second. This child just got lucky._"

The thoughts had no sooner formed in his head when the ground begun to rumble. Lee's eyes widened in shock.

"It can't be! He couldn't have!!"

"Bastard! This isn't over! Now it's my turn!" came Panti's voice before he popped out of the ground directly before Lee and hit him with an uppercut.

Everyone cried out as Lee sailed a few feet back and landed with a thud on his back. Lee hacked up a mouthful of blood and trembled on the ground. As much as the girls wanted to check on Lee, something told them that this guy didn't plan on giving them that chance. It was all or nothing! Lee slowly tried to stand up again.

Without warning, Panti shot forward with his arms spread and literally bowled Lee over before he could react. Lee cried out and slammed into the ground hard from impact before bouncing a few times like a stone on water. Lee quickly climbed to his feet only to catch a power packed straight liner to the cheek. Lee shot backwards like a bullet and slammed with a groan into a tree.

The mini Gai hacked up a second mouthful of blood and fell with a thud on the ground. Several cracks were in the tree's surface from impact. Lee was spared no mercy however. Panti stomped over to his trembling frame and took hold of one of his legs. With a bellow, Panti hurled Lee straight to the opposite side of the clearing where he slammed into another tree! This time, Lee had smashed directly through it!

"Lee!" cried Domino and Elaine in horror when he went still.

Panti charged like a rhinoceros and jumped. The mighty clown landed with a boom directly on Lee's back! Lee screamed in incredible pain while Panti evilly grinned. Before long, Lee went still again. After grinding his heel into Lee's back for good measure, Panti got off of him and faced the girls.

"Oops, guess I went a little overboard," teased the titan before assume that same inviting pose from before. "Who wants to try, next?"

The girls glanced at each other and nodded. There was only one course of action to take now. They had to stall these guys until Gai arrived to help out. In the meantime, they could try to exploit weaknesses as they fought.

Wordlessly, Domino put her gloves on and tightened her forehead protector while advancing forward to face Panti. Panti shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands as if to say "Take your best shot." Domino took a deep breath before assuming a combat stance. Without warning, the lavender eyed girl dashed forward to attempt a back knuckle. Panti managed to block the attack causing their arms to lock together. Panti stared into Domino's eyes with a considering gaze as he sized her up.

Domino winked before going into a sudden spin for a second backhand with her other arm. Panti leaned aside just in time to avoid it and hopped back. Domino boosted off after him and scored a solid punch to his cheek. Panti reeled from the blow leaving him open to a full sixteen hit combo directly to his face. Panti skidded back several feet and slowly turned his head back in Domino's direction with an amused smirk.

Domino narrowed her eyes and took her stance again. Judging from Panti's expression, the "Underwear man" had barely felt her punches. There was no denying it now, Panti was definitely stronger than he let on. It also explained how he was able to get up from the pounding Lee had gave him earlier. Domino ran forward and dove for a hit to the ground. The earth shook hard enough for everyone to fall to their knees as a stone spire rose up from beneath Panti. Panti found himself flying into the air with a deep cut on his arm from the sharp stones.

Panti looked up in time to catch a power packed kick to his face from Domino. Panti flew back with his first grunt of pain since the battle begun. Domino took hold of his leg before he could get far and hurled him back towards the ground. Panti hit once before flipping back onto his feet and dusting himself off as if nothing had happened. Domino touched down a few feet away and glared. Panti brushed his hair out of his eyes and turned towards Domino before fading from view like a ghost. Domino's eyes widened in shock as she frantically searched for her unseen opponent.

"Domino-san! To your left!" cried Lee haven awakened by this point.

His warning came a bit too late though. Domino cried out as she was sent sailing by a side hammer punch from Panti. Domino hit the ground and rolled a few times before desperately pushing herself into the air and back onto her feet with her hands. Domino winced and seized her left shoulder before shooting Panti a stunned look. Panti merely smiled in a way that promised more pain to come.

"Domino!" cried Elaine.

Try as she might, Elaine had not been able to find any kind of opening in Panti's fighting style at all. At this rate, the only possible way Elaine could help at all would be to risk it all on a suicide attack. Lee gritted his teeth from his perch on the ground and slowly struggled to rise to his feet.

"D-Dom…ino-san," groaned Lee.

"_He's tough, but I'm not gonna lose!_" thought Domino determinedly.

Domino trembled a bit as she clenched her right fist and lowered her gaze to the ground. Gold chakra gather around her fist as the earth begun to tremble once more. Panti stumbled a bit and raised an eyebrow when the magnitude came to an end. Domino bunched her legs and shot towards Panti with enough force to kick up HUGE chunks of stone. The power in her boost off caused Domino to close the distance between her and Panti in barely a millisecond. With a cry, Domino slugged Panti with her chakra covered fist hard enough for him to vanish in a fifty meter long fissure! Domino's strength was incredible!

Lee ceased trying to climb to his feet and stared at Domino in awe. Even Kurama and Gloss seemed intrigued by the devastation Domino had caused.

"Hmm, that girl has more flare in her than I expected," commented Gloss in amusement.

"Hmph, how stupid," was Kurama's response as he coolly folded his arms…

"Domino-san is amazing," breathed Lee from his crouched position.

Elaine couldn't help but agree with that. Still, her instincts were screaming that this was just the beginning.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"murmured Elaine worriedly.

They ceased their conversing when a familiar hand popped out of the ground a few feet away. Slowly, Panti climbed out of earth with a groan. Everyone was left speechless as Panti rose to his full height and cracked his neck to relieve the tension from it.

"Now, where were we?" taunted Panti cruelly.

"Impossible! There's no way he could've gotten up from that!" exclaimed Lee in alarm.

"Damn it!" cried Domino before rushing Panti once more.

Once in range, Domino elbowed him in the stomach hard enough for him to double over. Domino immediately followed up with two haymakers to each cheek and ended with a solid uppercut to Panti's chin. Quickly Domino leaped into a flying leopard kick before Panti had a chance to recover. Panti fell onto his back from the blow and immediately rolled backwards and boosted off back onto his feet. His recovery time granted him little mercy however. Domino was already on him with a heavy heel drop directly on his head. Panti groaned as the bones in his neck crackled a bit from the violent jolt. Domino spun into a back flip that resulted in Panti's head being snapped backwards from the blow to his chin.

"Ooowaggg!" groaned Panti as he begun to sail into the air.

He never got that chance. The moment Domino's back flip ended, she lunged forward for a pile driver to his solar plexus that made Panti's eyes turn white. Quickly she grabbed Panti by the collar and hurled him towards a nearby tree. The base of the tree begun to crack from the force as Panti slid lifelessly onto his butt with his head bowed.

"Did she get him?" breathed Elaine after a full minute had passed.

Domino was breathing heavily as she cautiously approached Panti's apparently beaten frame. Given how much of a beating this man had recovered from before, Domino was taking no chances. It was a good thing too since Panti raised his head and grinned in amusement.

"Just kidding!" said Panti before springing to his feet and lashing out with a heavy power punch.

Domino performed a flip, sideways, to avoid it. She landed on the base of a different tree and boosted off towards Panti to attempt an punch to his nose. This time Panti caught Domino's fist and retaliated with a backhand to her face of such strength that it caused her to see stars. Panti followed up with a solid snake kick to Domino's stomach while she was still in midair. Domino sailed back to smash into a tree, hard. Domino groaned as her back erupted into screaming pain. She looked up in time to see Panti lashing out with a iron punch towards her face.

Instinctively, Domino leaned her head aside causing Panti to take a sizable chunk out of the tree instead. Domino's eyes widened in shock. Such a blow would've finished her off for sure! With a growl, Domino knocked Panti's arm aside and leaped into a tackle that forced Panti off balance. Quickly she bunched up her legs into Panti's guts and performed an extremely powerful bunny hop the moment his back touched the ground. Panti screamed in pain from the blow. Nobody could blame him for it, such a move would've turned an ordinary man's insides into soup. Unfortunately for Domino, Panti wasn't an ordinary man.

As quick as a flash, Panti took hold of Domino's leg while she was airborne and slammed her face down into the dirt with enough force for an impression of her body to be created. Panti quickly rose to his feet and begun to spin until he had enough momentum to hurl her towards a tree, head first! It took all the strength Domino had to spin around so that she was sailing feet first instead. Domino landed in a crouched position on the base of the tree. Cracks appeared on every square inch of it from the force of her landing! Domino glared at Panti from this position with a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.

"What's wrong? You look pretty tired," teased Panti.

"Geez, what have you been eating? You're like a tank!" complimented Domino half-jokingly.

Panti grinned and chuckled a bit. It was obvious that both of these super fighters were having fun. Domino then gathered strength in her legs and boosted off just like last time. The tree toppled over from the force as Domino covered the distance in less than a split second. Panti's fist was already in motion, not that it did him any good. Domino seized Panti by the throat and took off running with the added force of her boost off. Panti gasped as his air was cut off. Domino slammed and dragged Panti's body into the ground as she ran before hurling him into the air with a cry. Domino then begun rapidly forming seals.

"Doton, Doryuudan no Jutsu!"

A large chunk of stone broke away from the ground and shattered into hundreds of stone shards. Domino's hands glowed with chakra as she thrust them towards Panti's airborne frame. Like bullets, the shards shot towards Panti. The human tank grinned at the sight of the deadly projectiles and quickly pulled out his scythe weapon. He quickly twirled it a bit and hurled it at Lee! Domino and Elaine cried out in alarm before Domino desperately redirected her shards to deflect the scythe away. The stones had only just managed to save Lee from a near introduction to the life of a cripple. Sadly, the sudden rescue brought Panti enough time to touch down in a nearby tree. Domino glared as Panti recalled his scythe to his hand with a sinister grin.

Quickly Elaine stood protectively besides Lee and used her ward to make water spheres. Domino nodded and smiled in gratitude. Now Elaine would be able to keep Lee covered while offering support to Domino during the battle. Once more Domino assumed a fighting stance while her stone shards revolved around the tree Panti was standing in. He watched their progress in amusement for a moment before coolly folding his arms and closing his eyes. Panti then stomped on the branch he was standing on causing it to snap.

Domino was weary as Panti dropped straight down in the same position. Just moments before he would've hit the ground, Panti flipped the broken branch up like a skateboard. He then went into a quick spin kick that sent the branch rocketing towards Domino. Domino's eyes widened in surprise before she instinctively knocked the branch aside with a backhand. Panti suddenly pulled an evanescence again before Domino could react. Domino heard the clinking of Panti chain behind her before Panti grabbed her by the skull!

Domino cried out in both pain and frustration as Panti lifted her a few feet off the ground by her head. She gritted her teeth as Panti lightly pressed his scythe to her throat with a chuckle.

"I win," declared Panti before rearing back his weapon arm.

"Hitotsu Shotto!" cried Elaine.

Panti barely had time to glance over his shoulders before Elaine's watery arrow pierced his weapon hand from behind. Panti grunted as his left hand went numb, forcing him to drop his scythe. Blood freely leaked out of the flesh wound and his clothes had been soaked by the torrent of water that followed the impact. Were it not for his great strength, Panti would've been knocked over by the rushing water. Angrily, Panti glared at Elaine as the bow in her hand turned into steam. Elaine glared right back with slightly glowing eyes as her pendant begun to shine.

Without warning, Panti tossed Domino aside and turned towards Elaine with a sudden grin. Domino moaned while trying to rub feeling back into her head. From the looks of it, Elaine was on her own for the moment.

"That's right, I almost forgot about you. You may as well hand that gem over heeheeheehee!" said Panti with a touch of his old insanity back.

Elaine and Domino stiffened, this guy was way too dangerous to take on blindly. One mistake and they could just as easily end up like Lee. Elaine shot Lee a glance out the corner of her eye and uttered a small gasp. Lee was slowly struggling to his feet again! Before Gloss and Kurama could give him away, Elaine quickly hurled a kunai at Panti with a nearly invisible thread of wire attached to the end. The underwear warrior sidestepped it and with a bellow, begun charging at her.

Quickly, Elaine gave the wire a shark yank and redirected the failed projectile straight into Panti's back! The titan stumbled a bit from the unexpected trick but charged on. That was when Lee, made his move!

The mini Gai lowered his grip to the end of his staff and sharply struck the ground with it. The combined Nunchaku separated at the links and formed a whip like weapon! With a cry, Lee hurled it after Panti. Panti's eyes widened in surprise once again. Quickly, Panti's was bound by the weapon and held in place by Lee! Panti struggled to keep charging, but simply could not move.

"Gate of Rest! Release!"

With a cry, Lee yanked Panti into the air and let him fly. Quickly, Lee released Panti from his whip while he was airborne so that he could wrap the chains around both of his fists like knuckles! Lee then vanished in a flash to once more appeared above Panti. With a scream and eyes blazing with the fires of youth, Lee begun to pummel Panti all the way back to the ground! Trying to count the number of hits Lee had landed was all but impossible!

The largest dust wall of all shot into the air upon impact with the earth. Even the ground begun shaking a bit from the force. When the cloud cleared, Lee was holding a very battered Panti up by his shirt. Lee wasted no time and hurled Panti as hard as he could, backwards. Lee crossed his arms in front of himself and took on a frown of concentration.

It wasn't visible, but a powerful force begun to surround Lee. Every single mind was put under unimaginable pressure as it grew stronger. Slowly, Lee's hair rose into the air as if it were being blown by a gust of wind. Veins started bulging from Lee's muscles and forehead and his skin started turning into a dark shade of reddish tan. Lee's pupil's lost their coloration until they were completely white. Lee's humongous aura then became visible causing everyone to slide back a few feet from the force.

"This is the end! Gate of Life! Release!" cried Lee.

He lowered his arms and revealed a face that seemed filled with rage. Stones begun to shatter and bits of them were rising into the air. Lee hunched over as his power shot through the roof! As quick as lightning, Lee shot towards and sent Panti on a free flying lesson with a solid uppercut. Lee followed with his nearly unrivaled speed and begun pummeling Panti in midair. Panti looked like a raggedy Anne doll as he was knocked about by a barely discernable green blur. A loud shockwave rang out as Panti was sent shooting towards the earth.

He came to a sudden halt in midair and glanced up with a wince to see Lee holding him from a strip of his bandage wrappings. Just like that, Lee yanked Panti back up into the air and reared back his Nunchaku covered fist for the finishing touch. Panti barely had time to cry out as Lee blasted his guts to oblivion with a pile driver.

"Ura Renge!"

This time, Panti smashed into the earth with enough force to form a seventeen foot crater! Lee touched down a few feet away on trembling limbs. Even though he had only gone as far as the third gate, Lee's body was still screaming in pain. Without a doubt, Lee wasn't going to be fighting anyone else tonight. Domino and Elaine rushed to their comrade's side.

"Lee, are you alright!" asked Elaine with the highest level of concern written on her face.

Lee nodded and managed an exhausted smile.

"I'll leave the rest to you," said the mini Gai.

Sure enough, when the dust cleared, Panti was laying facedown. He wasn't breathing. Kurama and Gloss were completely stunned by the sight.

"It's not possible! His body is harder than steel right now! How in the world did he lose to that brat?!" gasped Gloss.

Kurama narrowed his eyes.

"This is unexpected. Lets go Gloss, we cannot risk fighting one on one any longer," ordered Kurama while staring at Elaine.

"Alright," agreed Gloss.

Both of them leaped out of the tree they were in and landed a few feet away from Domino and Elaine. Kurama's eyes remained locked onto Elaine's the whole while. Elaine stiffened and withdrew a pair of kunai from her pouch while Domino took a ready stance.

"Looks like your prayers went unheeded. This time, there won't be anyone to save you," predicted Kurama while seizing the handle of one of his swords…

* * *

"So basically…" begun Tenten.

"You want us to baby sit a bunch of oddballs," concluded Neji.

Gai cleared his throat and struck the nice guy pose.

"I know it's sudden but I'll need someone to supervise my class until I get back," said Gai cheerfully. "You guys will do this for me won't you? Hmm?"

Tenten and Neji knew that smile and grunt all too well. Before Gai could shrug and suggest some ridiculously difficult training plan both sighed and nodded that they would.

"Great! That's the youthful sprit I was looking for! Run towards the sunset!" said Gai with a jolly laugh.

"Hai hai hai, whatever," came Tenten while shaking her head at the mess they were in now.

Neji just closed his eyes as if praying for patience…

* * *

Kurama had no sooner took a step forward before glancing out the corner of his eye. As quick as a flash, Kurama leaned back to avoid a stone shard to the head. The razor sharp projectile sailed harmlessly pass and Kurama turned his head towards the source. Domino stood tall with a hand on her hip while staring intensely at Kurama.

"If you want her, you'll have to go through me!" declared Domino with unusual seriousness on her part.

Kurama returned the gaze and spoke.

"You would've done well to stay out of it, girl," stated Kurama coolly.

Without warning, Gloss dropped into a stance and drew a Sai from her lower back.

"She's mine!" declared Gloss before taking to the air.

Gloss sailed towards Domino while drawing her other Sai. She started off with a straight thrust to Domino's head. Domino danced around it and took a boxer approach as she avoided several more follow up attacks. The ions in the air collided every time Gloss attacked creating a nice ripple effect in the air.

"Just so you know, missy! Gloss will be the last name you'll ever hear!" declared Gloss with an amused smile as she attacked.

Domino hopped back to avoid a vicious swing and reared back her fist.

"How original! Did you come up with that one yourself?" taunted Domino before leaping forward for a counterattack…

With Domino distracted for the moment, Kurama faced Elaine once more.

"I take it you still haven't changed your mind," stated Kurama.

Elaine entering a combat stance was answer enough. Kurama drew his sword and held it at his side while a strong gust of wind picked up. The moment it passed, Kurama rushed Elaine fast enough to leave a trail of afterimages in his wake!

Kurama started off with a overhead slash that Elaine sidestepped. Elaine then countered with two kunai slashes that Kurama quickly blocked with his sword. Elaine suddenly jumped into a spin kick forcing Kurama to lean back to avoid it. Two upwards kunai slashes knocked Kurama's sword arm high enough for an opening to present itself. Elaine went for it with a strong thrust.

Kurama caught Elaine's arm in mid-attack and quickly attempted a beheading cleave. Kurama's attack passed through a cloud of smoke as Elaine made use of the replacement technique. Kurama narrowed his eyes at the severed log and glanced up in time to see a wave of shuriken coming at him. Quickly, Kurama hopped back to avoid them. The swords master landed on some leaves and his eyes grew wide as he caught sight of the exploding note concealed beneath them.

Kurama grunted in annoyance and took to the air just seconds before the note detonated. Kurama winced at the feel of heat on his back as he was propelled higher into the air from the resulting shockwave. Unexpectedly, Elaine high jumped out of the tree she had been hiding in. She added to the injury with an unexpected knee to Kurama's cheek. Kurama groaned from the blow as he sailed backwards.

Elaine formed some seals as she fell to the ground and formed her bow from one of her seven water spheres. She took aim and fired in midair!

"Suiton! Bakusuiryuu!"

Kurama's pained cry could be heard from somewhere beyond the torrent of water as the arrow hit home. Elaine touched down safely in a tree and awaited Kurama's condition. Elaine wasn't surprised at the absence of Kurama's body.

"Most impressive. You're surprisingly stronger than I expected you to be," came Kurama's voice from behind her.

As quick as lightening, both fighters took to the tree to repeatedly boost off towards each other for slashes. Sparks erupted with each pass they made before at some point, they came to a deadlock in midair. The two stared determinedly into each others eyes as they struggled to overpower the other. After a few moments, they boosted off away from each other and went into several flips. They touched down a few feet away at roughly the same time and reassumed stances.

"You keep talking as if you know me. Who are you?" asked Elaine.

"A lost traitor," replied Kurama while drawing his second sword before dashing forward.

Kurama was extra vicious as he slashed at Elaine over and over again. Elaine had little trouble dodging and blocking the attacks with kunai in both hands. Elaine took the offensive the moment an opening presented itself and attacked with a spin kick followed by a slashing uppercut. Kurama avoided the kick, but received a cut on his cheek from the unexpected knife attack. They hopped away from each other in a third stand off…

Domino somersaulted over a low thrust from Gloss and came crashing down with a two handed smash. Gloss managed to leap out of the way of the attack, but the rocks that erupted from impact still pelted her a few times. Gloss went into a spin and hurled one of her Sai at Domino. Domino kneeled and hit the ground hard enough for a wall of stone to rise up and shield her. With a cry, Domino hit the stone with both palms causing it to slide towards Gloss.

Gloss smirk and leaped towards the incoming stone. She landed safely on her Sai's handle, which was sticking out of the stone from her throw, and formed a seal. Domino watched as the stone smashed through several trees before coming to a halt.

The sudden sound of metal on metal drew Domino's attention to her left. Not surprisingly, Gloss was standing in the same tree she had first appeared in. She was pointing both of her Sai at Domino with her wicked grin in place.

"Falling for such a simple illusion. Watching you fight empty air was rather entertaining!" said Gloss cruelly.

Without warning, a stream of raw electricity shot towards Domino from the tip of Gloss's weapons. Domino cried out in alarm and shielded her face with her arms. Immediately, the earth wrapped Domino's arms in stone gauntlets. The electrical attack was nulled on the protective stone. Gloss ceased her assault with an amused smile.

"Well aren't you a smarty pants. So you've found a way around my attacks eh?" taunted Gloss while leaping into the air.

Gloss gracefully performed a back flip and spread her arms like a swan. She then hurled both of her Sai straight down to the ground. They landed handle up with soft thunks in the dirt. Gloss formed a seal and dropped straight downed in-between her weapons.

"Ivory…Ebony…Mandomon no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the air beneath Gloss. It was almost as if the very fabric of space was be torn when a warp hole was formed and begun giving off electrical discharges. Gloss smirked as she dropped directly into it. The hole then closed up and the air around Domino begun to shimmer. Domino stiffened and waited with her guard up. Whatever Gloss was planning to do was sure to be unpleasant.

Domino had no way to prepare for the wave of pain that overtook her body at that moment. There was nothing in sight to be able to tell what was causing it. All Domino knew was that she was being attacked over and over again with such speed that she was slowly rising into the air! Domino screamed when Gloss appeared out of nowhere to end her Jutsu with a jolt of electricity to her stomach from her palms! Domino smashed hard into a tree and coughed up a mouthful of blood with wide eyes.

Domino then dropped with a groan onto her face and trembled on the ground. The stone covering her hands shattered as Domino drifted in and out of consciousness with blurring vision. Somehow, Gloss had beaten her! Gloss's annoying laugh rang out just as Domino finally passed out completely…

Elaine and Kurama had moved their fight back to ground level by this point and were seriously going at it with everything they had. The fighter's weapons skills were clearly top level. At some point, during a deadlock of their blades, Elaine glanced out the corner of her eyes. They widened in alarm at the sight of Domino dropping to the ground after what looked like a really painful smash into a tree.

"Domino!" cried Elaine.

Kurama's face was blank as Elaine made this often fatal mistake. Abruptly, he leaped back causing the blue haired girl to stumbling off balance in surprise.

"You shouldn't take your eyes off of an opponent for any reason," said Kurama as he crossed his swords in front of himself like an X and raised them overhead.

Once more, the light of the moon engulfed his swords. This time, the moon became completely blood red.

"Oborozuki!"

Kurama smashed the tip of both blades to the ground resulting in a massive tidal wave of pure lunar energy! Elaine was overwhelmed in its' light, hiding her from view. Not even ten seconds passed before something shot out of the wave covered in blinding bright light. It spun gracefully a few times before stopping and snapping its' wings open. The light cleared revealing the very Ice Dragon Elaine had summoned during the tournament! Its' body glittered beautifully as it roared. Elaine was riding on its' back with her bow in hand.

Kurama never removed his serious eyes from Elaine's as they faced each other down for one last stand. Wordlessly, Kurama slung both of his swords over his left shoulder and went into a quick spin. His swords begun brightly glowing to the point of becoming blinding. His arms then separated after the spin revealing him to be holding one large Bastard Sword in his right hand. Kurama had fused his swords together!

Elaine's dragon growled while Elaine herself did the drawing motion as if she were readying an arrow. However, this one was completely different from before.

"Ryuuoh Hyoton…" begun Elaine as light begun forming in her hands from her glowing pendant.

Kurama took to the air with a high jump and begun climbing on sudden masses of light! Somehow or other, the Moon Swordsman could use moon light to travel through the air! Elaine didn't seem too surprised by this.

"Zeras, evasive actions," ordered Elaine while keeping her focus on charging up her technique.

Zeras was more than willing to put some distance between herself and this moon man. Something didn't feel right about him. She went into a dive just as Kurama reached them. His sword cut through empty air due to the sudden dodge. Zeras circled around and fired a stream of ice shards at Kurama's back. Kurama turned around and deflected a number of the shards with a shield of light from his sword. The overall force still sent Kurama reeling back though.

Zeras took advantage of that and went into a barrel roll while rushing Kurama. The Moon Swordsman took a direct hit when Zeras plowed into him, sending him further into the air. Kurama didn't get far, since Zeras used her tail for a quick game of baseball. Kurama dropped several dozen feet towards the ground before his descend slowed enough for him to create another mass of light to stand on. Unfortunately for him, Zeras had fired off a second stream of shards. She used her wings to speed them up via whirlwinds for additional damage!

Kurama grunted in annoyance as he was further disoriented by the combo. Were it not for his sword, Kurama would look a lot like cheese right now. He landed on top of a tree and stared up at his foes with a mildly impressed expression. Both Elaine and Zeras were impressively strong, but playtime was over. Kurama grasped his sword with both hands and took on a look of concentration. A blinding white aura overtook Kurama as he called on every ounce of strength the moon had to give. Gloss nodded when she saw this and quickly rushed to Panti's body.

Gloss took on a frown of concentration and gave Panti's body a rather violent jolt of electricity. Panti cried out very loudly and bolted upright while gasping for air. The mighty clown was still alive! Panti shook his head to clear it before glancing at Gloss and grinning stupidly.

"Hello nurse!" greeted Panti in his best impression of 'Yakko.'

Panti then begun stretching as if he had just woken up from a nap.

"Oi, did I get them?" asked Panti.

Gloss smirked.

"No you didn't. In fact, you were beaten," replied Gloss, much to Panti's surprise.

Gloss then got serious.

"Stand up, Kurama-senpai is going to use 'that' technique."

Panti sneered at that and begun to crackle.

"At last," he said before both he and Gloss moved to different locations around Kurama using rapid motion.

Once ready, they added their auras to Kurama's resulting in an area wide triangle of moon energy. All three Rogue members begun chanting as one. Elaine had finished powering up by this point as well. Her attack was in the form of a fifteen foot long arrow of pulsing energy!

Kurama's and Elaine's eyes were locked solely into each others as they gathered all the power they had into their techniques. Elaine pulled her arrow further back while Kurama tightened his grip on his sword. Zeras begun gathering air in her mouth as well. A chilled breeze picked up causing everyone's hair to sway. In unison, they acted.

"Wasurejimo," murmured Elaine with glowing blue eyes.

"Kai, Selene no Getsu!" cried the Rogue Three as one.

Elaine's arrow seemed to leave a trail reminiscent of an actual aurora along with glittering rings of frost as it traveled in the form of pure light. Kurama's technique resulted in a jet of solid moonlight with angel wings extending from it. The two attacks collided head on with each other in a furious power struggle. Ever so slowly, a sphere of chakra begun growing between the two battling techniques. Zeras added to the mix as well, causing the ball to slowly move towards Kurama's group. Gloss countered that by launching a constant stream of electricity from her Sai. The growing ball came to a standstill and slowly begun expanding.

At times it swirled with the colors of the rainbow while at other times it was a plain as the moon itself. Electrical discharges surrounded it from Gloss's attack and it was still growing. The resulting chakra explosion wasn't unexpected, but when it did occur the results were devastating!

Dozens of trees had been uprooted and a massive crater was in the ground. The air had grown unstable causing gravity to fluctuate. The moon had also turned into a new moon since so much of its' energy was used. Everyone sailed backwards with pained cries and crashed in random places around the area save for Elaine and a roaring Zeras.

Kurama and Elaine had been rendered unconscious since the had been closest to the ball when it blew up. Elaine was slumped over on a badly injured Zeras, who slowly came down for a landing. With a weak roar, Zeras turned into powder snow and fused back with Elaine's pendant. Gloss and Panti limped back out of the forest with extra cuts added to their frames.

Panti still managed an insane crackle, even though his left arm was bleeding pretty badly. Gloss was the only one who had remained mostly unharmed save for a few minor cuts. Lee was fighting to stay conscious as his vision blurred from being hurled through the air from the explosion. He only heard fragments of the conversation as Panti scooped up Elaine, piggyback style, and Gloss slung one of Kurama's arms over her shoulder.

"Let's go…will be happy…power…" said Gloss from what Lee could make out.

Panti nodded and shot Domino and Lee an insane grin. With that, the Rogue Three took off with Elaine in their possession.

"E…laine…san" gasped Lee before sleep overtook him as well.

Gai just now dashed into the clearing with a worried expression from the earlier chakra force he felt. His face fell when he saw the situation.

"Damn it. I was too late…"

* * *

Genmaru's eyes were swirling with colors as he tapped into his newfound power for training. The ground rumbled under the strain of it. The feel of all the raw power coursing through and accumulating in his body never ceased to amaze him no matter how many times he used it. Still, Genmaru had to get stronger.

"Xi…Naruto…I'll do the best that I can," murmured Genmaru with a faraway gaze.

All the training was going to pay off the moment he defeated Orochimaru. Slowly, his aura engulfed him…

* * *

Everything was blurry as Elaine awoken from her sleep. While she waited for her eyes to adjust, Elaine gingerly made small movements with her limbs. Thankfully she didn't hurt anywhere.

"_Zeras must've taken the brunt of the damage. I hope everyone else is alright_," thought Elaine sadly.

Tiredly, Elaine turned her head in search of her companions. Instead of them, she found herself in what appeared to be a bedroom. The floor was covered in a soft white carpet that went well with the walls. The furniture consisted of a dresser and a low dining table with plush pillows as seats. Several rare, and most likely stolen, paintings were hung here and there. A small drawer with both a jewelry and music box were present as well. A open window with silk curtains completed the look.

"Where am I?" murmured Elaine while rising to a sitting position.

Elaine gave a start and her hand instantly shot to her neck. Her pendant was missing from its' residence.

"Darn it!" cried Elaine angrily while jumping to her feet. "Where did those lousy thieves get to!?"

"You shouldn't strain yourself so soon," came a deep voice.

Elaine looked around the room for the source, but didn't see anyone. She withdrew a kunai anyway, just in case. It was strange that they hadn't taken her equipment away as well. Most likely, this person didn't view her as a threat.

"Who's there?" asked Elaine seriously.

"I'm nobody important. Please try to rest," replied the voice. "It took your body nearly three days to recover from chakra exhaustion."

Elaine was surprised by this revelation. Apparently, this person had been nursing her back to health for the past three days. Nonetheless, she knew better than to relax her guard.

"Why did your partners bring me here!? What do you want!?" demanded Elaine.

"In time, you will understand. For now, if there is anything you need feel free to ask the servant."

The bedroom door opened on cue and a young girl in filthy rags entered the room. She looked no older than eight with a head full of long and wild red hair. Her bangs were constantly in her lime colored eyes and she barely cleared Elaine's chest as far as height went. She looked tired and hungry but she managed a smile for her new 'master.' Her eyes reflected her true emotions however. She was very upset at her unfortunate lifestyle. In her hands was a platter of food for Elaine that the servant girl was staring at longingly.

Elaine's anger doubled when she saw this.

"Who do you think you are!? What monstrosity of a man forces a girl to live like this!?" shouted Elaine.

The voice disregarded Elaine's outburst, although the servant girl looked both surprised and grateful that someone was sticking up for her.

"You're not a prisoner so you can go anywhere you wish but you must remain in this house," it stated in a cooler tone.

"What makes you think you can hold me here against my will!?" snapped Elaine.

The voiced sighed. It was natural for her to be upset in this situation, but it was starting to lose patience.

"Please don't do anything rash. I'd hate to have to treat you like a convict. If you'll excuse me."

"Hang on! Where is this place and where did you hide my pendant!?" yelled Elaine.

Only silence replied to her. Elaine started shaking in anger for a moment before sighing and putting her kunai away. She then turned to the servant girl and smiled.

"Hi, are you alright?" asked Elaine kindly.

The girl was about to answer when her stomach gave a loud rumble. She blushed and sadly lowered her gaze to the floor. Elaine frown in sympathy for her plight and reached into her pouch. She withdrew a couple of cookies she had saved and offered them to the girl with a smile. She gratefully took them and sadly gazed into Elaine's eyes.

"Why are you so kind to Sumomo?" asked the girl.

"Is that your name?" asked Elaine.

Sumomo nodded in confirmation.

"Well, I can't stand seeing anyone suffer like this. Especially a cute girl like yourself," said Elaine warmly. "Plus you were hungry, right?"

The girl handed Elaine the food tray, which consisted of bread, cheese and seasoned fish with a glass of water.

"Would you like to share this with me? I don't think I could eat it all by myself," offered Elaine.

Sumomo didn't get to answer since a storm of pounding on the bedroom door rang out.

"Your time is up brat! Report back to your duties immediately!" barked the gruff yet telltale voice of a goon.

Sadly the servant girl rose to leave but not before Elaine wrapped the bread loaf in a handkerchief and handed it to her. Sumomo's eyes widened in surprise while Elaine winked and raised a finger to her lips. The servant girl smiled in gratitude and pocketed the bread before bowing her leave from the room. Once Elaine was left alone, she quickly moved to the window and peered outside.

Elaine took in the sight of Rogue Market, which appeared even more shabby looking in daylight. The Market was crowded with a handful of shoppers and more than one street fight was going on. True to its' name, it was a barbarian camp. From what she could tell, Elaine was on the sixth floor of the mansion. As temping as it was to just climb out the window and escape, Elaine knew that doing so without being spotted would be downright impossible. Besides, there was no point in leaving now that her captors had possession of her pendant.

An audible growl from her stomach reminded Elaine that it would be easier to think things through if she weren't hungry. With a sigh, Elaine seized the food tray and sat down at the table for lunch judging by the position of the sun. The meal was largely uneventful and lonely as her thoughts wandered to her friends. More than anything, Elaine hoped that Lee and Domino were okay. Especially after the beating they took from that Panti guy. Honestly his strength and incredible endurance was scary.

Elaine had just polished off a majority of the fish, which couldn't even begin to compare to Genmaru's cooking, when she took notice of a strip of paper jutting from the tray. Curiously, Elaine removed the bowls from it and pried the metal food holder apart. A large journal and a letter fell onto the table with a plop. Without a second thought, Elaine picked up the letter. The envelope was really old and threatened to crumble if not handled gently. There was no signature so Elaine couldn't even begin to imagine who had sent it to her. Warily, she opened it and unfolded the faded yellow parchment…

* * *

Domino awakened to the animated chattering of Gai and Lee that did her headache no justice. Before they took notice of her, Domino looked around. As it turned out, she was resting in one of the hospital rooms. Domino bolted upright with a start.

"Elaine…ugh!"

The lavender eyed girl immediately regretted her sudden move when a violent jolt of pain overtook her body. Her wounds had not yet had a chance to heal.

"Domino-san, you mustn't move yet!" instructed Gai in alarm.

Slowly, Domino laided back down and did her best to ignore the pain. Gai and Lee, who was in his own bed, watched until her trembling calmed down a bit. They then sighed in relief. Domino then met Gai's gaze.

"Elaine…where is she?" asked Domino quietly.

Lee and Gai both grew solemn.

"Domino-san…" murmured Lee while Gai shook his head in the negative. "Elaine-san was abducted. Those three ran off with her just before Gai-sensei arrived."

Domino clenched the bed sheet in a fist and slowly rose to a sitting position. Domino then looked Gai in the eye.

"We have to go after her. She…she…!" begun Domino.

Gai placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You have such a passionate and youthful friendship with Elaine-san. Very well, I'll form a search party with the most youthful squad I know. In the meantime, you two should rest," advised Gai with a wink and a dazzling grin while flashing the nice guy pose.

Domino suddenly snickered at the sight and pointed.

"You're weird…"

Gai's mouth flopped open comically and he grabbed his head in dismay.

"NOOOOOO!!" cried Gai with tears streaming down his face. "Why must everyone pursue revolutionary actions!?"

"Gai-sensei!" wailed Lee just as tearfully.

The duo begun sobbing making Domino sweat drop.

"But I believe in you all the same," finished the lavender eyed girl.

The look alikes stopped their water works and shot Domino starry eyed looks.

"Really?!" they asked in unison.

Domino nodded and chuckled while rubbing the back of her head. Gai's right fist begun trembling and he looked up with the fires of youth burning in his eyes.

"Yosh! I shall return with Elaine-san by tomorrow or else I'll do five-hundred bunny hops around the village!" declared Gai.

"You're so cool, sensei!" praised Lee.

Gai and Lee then stuck the nice Gai pose at each other while practically blinding each other with their dazzling teeth. Domino's eyebrow begun to twitch from the weirdness.

"_Then again_…"

* * *

Elaine begun reading…

_My child, by the time you've read this letter I'm certain ruin will not be too far behind. I've left behind the product of much research and experimentation. It saddens me to remember the countless lives that have been lost to discover this small scrap of information. Now I must pass on my discoveries before all is lost._

_Contained within the journal, is the origin and legacy of Aurora Country. As you already know, eight mysterious artifacts of a unique nature had recently been discovered in the northern region. For some time now, the abnormal rumors shrouding them has piped my curiosity. After much research, this is what I have concluded._

_The Kyokko Charms, said to bring uncanny levels of luck to its' bearer and alter the effects of Ninjutsu, were both blessings and curses. United, they had the potential to generate levels of energy that could surpass that of every living organism combined. Such energy is astonishing and most likely very dangerous to those around it. To counter the danger of these gems, they were divided into pairs and entrusted to four selected families. Delieas, Harime, Toriyama, Nemo._

_In order to understand the true power of the item you possessed, you'll need to know the prophecy that comes with it…_

Elaine frowned due to the fact that the rest of the letter was simply too warped and blurry to allow further reading. Whatever this person had planned to tell "My child," was most likely somewhere within the journal. Carefully, Elaine placed the letter back inside the envelope and set it aside. She then picked up the dusty book that was even more worn out than the letter had been.

Elaine had no sooner begun skimming the first page when her face fell.

"W-what? I don't understand this at all," murmured the blue haired girl.

The journal was filled with complicated rituals and formulas that were beyond the comprehension of anyone lower than a Jounin level ninja! Page after page, that didn't change. Elaine sweat dropped with each passing page until finally she just gave up and closed the book. Elaine sighed and flopped backwards onto her bed to gaze at the ceiling.

The mystery of the journal and maybe even the pendants themselves were right in her hands. It was just so vexing that she could not read them! The thoughts were quickly replaced since it was pointless to concern herself with it now. One by one, her friends entered her mind with their warm smiles. Once Naruto's face passed by, two more entered her thoughts. Faces that she had not seen in a very long time.

"_Mom…Papa…I wonder what you're doing now_…" thought Elaine as a warm and gentle breeze fluttered into the room from the open window.

With sudden sleepiness, brought on by the meal and the wind, Elaine drifted off to sleep again…

_The chamber Elaine found herself in was very dark. Not much was visible save for the man sized person standing before her with his back turned. The person was wearing black robes and a hood that hid his head from view. Whoever it was had his arms spread as if he were praising something. The figure glanced over his shoulders after a moment._

"_You have arrived," said the cloaked figure quietly._

_Elaine stiffened and raised a kunai._

"_You…you're the voice from the bedroom," realized Elaine._

_The mysterious man turned around while reaching into his pocket. Much to Elaine's surprise, he pulled out her pendant! The shiny crystal dangled and slowly spun on its' chain as he held it up._

"_Did you want this back?"_

_Elaine instantly grew wary._

"_What do you want from me?" asked the blue haired girl with a mistrustful stare._

"_To see if you will be the one to fulfill the prophecy," answered the man while fading into the darkness._

"_Wait! W-who are you?" asked Elaine in barely a whisper._

_For just a moment there was silence. The unseen figure then spoke from somewhere in the distance._

"_I'm all that's left, or maybe I'm all that there ever was," echoed his cryptic reply. "So long as you're the one who must unlock the seal, I am but one with the dark."_

Soft tapping rouse Elaine from her troubled slumber before the mystery man could say more. Elaine couldn't help but to feel both annoyed and grateful for the interruption. Something about what she had just seen seemed to give off an air of danger that she wasn't truly ready for just yet. Quickly she slid off of the bed and moved to open the door while noticing that it was nearing midnight as she passed the window.

Elaine had been expecting some roughneck or at least one of the Rouge Three to be waiting on the other side and was fully prepared to cause mayhem if needed. Instead, the person Elaine saw was none other than Sumomo! Tears were streaming down the redhead's face and she looked as if she had gotten beaten up! Elaine was stunned by the sight.

"M-may Sumomo come in?" asked the servant girl with sad eyes.

Elaine recovered quickly and fully opened the door.

"Of course you can! Please, come in!" consented Elaine with an expression of worry.

Sumomo did so with her gaze lowered to the floor. At Elaine's prompting, she sat down on the bed while the blue haired girl rummaged through her nearby backpack for her medical kit and some tissue. Once she had them, Elaine sat besides Sumomo and wiped away her tears with a sheet of tissue.

Elaine knew better than to ask Sumomo what happened before she herself was ready to tell her and so proceeded to clean Sumomo's injuries with alcohol and cotton balls. The redhead would wince from time to time but each time Elaine would smile warmly and ease the pressure a bit. It wasn't until after Elaine applied the bandages when Sumomo spoke.

"Sumomo is sorry for troubling you. You were kind to Sumomo before so…" begun the redhead while wiping her eyes with her sleeves.

"No, it's no trouble at all. You're welcome to stay here tonight if you want to," offered Elaine kindly while seething inside at how anyone could beat up on a young girl.

Elaine momentarily panicked when Sumomo's eyes once more filled with tears. Quickly she held up her hands in peace with a nervous smile.

"It's alright, sweetie! Nobody is going to get you here! I prom…"

The girl abruptly rushed into Elaine and hugged her waist.

"Sumomo hates living like this! Sumomo wants to see mama and papa!" wailed the girl between sobs.

Elaine offered as much comfort as she could by hugging her until she felt better. After a few minutes, Sumomo separated from Elaine while apologizing.

"It's alright," reassured Elaine while Sumomo wiped away her tears again.

Once finished, Elaine gave Sumomo a look that was best described as motherly.

"Have you been separated from your parents?" asked Elaine.

Sumomo nodded sadly.

"Sumomo was separated from mama and papa many moons ago. Bad men came and attacked everybody at night. Sumomo was scared and mama and papa told Sumomo to hide in cellar. Sumomo wanted to stay with mama and papa but they hid Sumomo in the cellar anyway. Sumomo was cold and alone and everyone else was being attacked. Finally someone let Sumomo out of the cellar but they were the bad men. They tied up and blindfolded Sumomo. Sumomo didn't see mama or papa anywhere…"

"I'm sorry, Sumomo," apologized Elaine sadly.

Elaine couldn't help but give the redhead's parents a moment of respectful silence. It just seemed so unlikely that they could have survived a night raid by a group of thieves and barbarians. Elaine leaned back onto her palms and stared up beyond the ceiling to her own memories.

"I was separated from my parents too…"

Sumomo looked at Elaine in surprise.

"My situation wasn't exactly the same as yours, but I understand very well what it's like. Every single day, I wonder how mom and dad are doing. Are they still alive? Do they still think about me? I don't have the answers to these questions, but I'm not sad. I know that one day I'll be able to see them again," continued Elaine quietly.

Elaine met Sumomo's gaze with a warm smile.

"You too. If you really wish it, I'm positive that you'll see your mama and papa again. I'll bet that they're thinking about you even as we speak."

Sumomo's eyes begun to shine with hope as she smiled for the first time.

"Really? Sumomo will get to see mama and papa again?" asked the redhead with hopeful cuteness.

"Hai," confirmed Elaine while joyfully admiring Sumomo's smile. "You can see your mama and papa right now if you want. Your parents have always been with you, right here."

Elaine gently pressed her fingertip to Sumomo's heart. The redhead seemed surprise as she pressed her palm to her own heart.

"Mama and papa are here?" asked Sumomo.

Elaine nodded and pressed her right palm to her heart while closing her eyes.

"Yes. They'll always be right here with you even if they are someplace far away. So if at any time you feel lonely and want to see them, all you have to do is close your eyes and reach out for them," said Elaine while faintly sensing the life force of her parents far to the north just as she always have.

Once more, their image entered her mind's eye just as they have countless times. Elaine smiled in serene tranquility prompting Sumomo to give it a try. After a moment, Sumomo gasped. It had only been a little bit, but Sumomo had felt her parent's life force really close by. Their images slowly entered her mind as clearly as crystal. Sumomo opened her eyes with tears of happiness in their corners and met Elaine's knowing smile with a flush.

"Um, can Sumomo call you Onee-chan?" she asked shyly.

Elaine had to use all her will power to stop herself from squealing and playing with Sumomo's cheeks! She was just so cute when she did that!

"Sure you can, sweetie! Oh, I haven't told you my name yet!" realized Elaine with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, it's Harime Elaine."

"Elaine-Onee-chan, arigato," said Sumomo with a warm and cute smile.

Elaine stuck her tongue out in pleasure. It was nice to know that there was still some purity to this place…

* * *

Sumomo and Elaine had talked and laughed well into the night about many things. Sumomo turned out to be very talkative and had a head filled with endless questions. Truth be told, Elaine wasn't sure when they had fell asleep. She was gently roused by sunlight filtering into the room. Elaine felt around her for Sumomo, but the redhead wasn't laying next to her.

Elaine sat up and glanced around the room, but again she wasn't present. Elaine was just considering leaving the room to find her when soft tapping sounded at the door. Elaine stood up and opened it to find Sumomo holding a breakfast tray in hand.

"Ohayo, Onee-chan," greeted Sumomo with a smile.

Elaine sighed in relief and smiled back warmly.

"Ohayo, Sumomo."

The adorable girl handed Elaine the food tray after entering the room. The platter consisted of a loaf of bread, scrambled eggs, sausages, a bowl of piping hot porridge and a glass of water.

"Thank you, sweetie! Say, lets eat together," suggested Elaine.

This time, Elaine wasn't going to let her leave with just a loaf of bread. Sumomo smiled excitedly at that.

"Really, Onee-chan? It's okay if Sumomo eats with you?"

"Certainly!" replied Elaine.

"Yatai!" cheered Sumomo cutely.

Once again Elaine had to fight an urge to play with Sumomo's cheeks. Chuckling, Elaine sat the tray down between them on the dining table. Once both were seated on mats, they clapped their hands.

"Itadakimasu!"

Elaine watched as Sumomo seized and wolfed down several sausages like an animal that hadn't eaten in a long time. Elaine was saddened by the sight. Sumomo obviously wasn't being cared for. Her animalistic style of eating didn't change throughout the duration of the whole meal.

"I'm going to get you out of this place," promised Elaine.

Sumomo paused at that and wiped her mouth using her sleeve.

"You'll help Sumomo?" asked the servant girl hopefully.

"Yes," replied Elaine with a determined nod. "First, I'll need you to tell me where we are."

"Sumomo knows! We're in master's mansion, directly in Rogue Market!" supplied Sumomo excitedly due to the thought that she would be freed of this oppressive lifestyle.

"Rogue Market? Could you tell me more about it?" asked Elaine.

"Hai! Bad men are everywhere. They bully everyone and always steal things. They only listen to Gloss-sama, Panti-sama and Kurama-sama."

"What about this place? Can you show me around?" requested Elaine.

"Hai, but Sumomo is forbidden to go to certain places. They'll punish Sumomo," replied the servant girl sadly.

Elaine grew upset at that, but kept her cool to avoid making any mistakes.

"Okay Sumomo, this is very important. Have you seen anyone carrying a green pendant or a blond haired boy?" asked Elaine.

"Sumomo hasn't seen anyone like that…but Sumomo has seen a pretty green stone."

Elaine was pleased by these bits on information. Naruto's absence was a sure sign that he was still safe for the moment. The thought was comforting.

"Perfect, can you take me to the stone you saw?" asked Elaine.

Sumomo's face grew trouble.

"Sumomo can't, it is in forbidden chamber. Master has it," replied Sumomo sadly since she figured that Elaine wouldn't want to help her anymore due to her failure.

Elaine sensed her thoughts and gently took hold of Sumomo's hands.

"I promised you that I'd help you. No matter what, I intend to keep it," reassured Elaine.

"Thank you, Onee-chan," said Sumomo with a slight flush of admiration.

Elaine smiled before growing thoughtful.

"_So close. If it's in this 'Master' guy's possession then I won't be able to just take it back without a fight. There has to be another way_," thought Elaine. "Sumomo, is there some other way that I could get into that chamber without getting you in trouble?"

"Hai, Sumomo knows another way!" replied Sumomo excitedly.

"Can you take me there?"

"Hai, follow me!" said Sumomo before rushing to the door.

Sumomo pulled it open and checked to see if anyone was around. A guard glared at the girls but didn't try to stop them since Elaine had free rein of the mansion. Sumomo took Elaine's hand and half pulled her to wherever she was taking her. Elaine marveled at Sumomo's energy. Despise how mistreated she was, Sumomo looked like she could easily spend the whole day playing like an ordinary kid. The thought pleased Elaine since it was a sure sign that Sumomo had never given up on a better life.

Elaine took in her surroundings as they traveled. Weird was the best way to describe what she was seeing. She and Sumomo had started running three minutes ago down a long fancy hallway. During that time, Elaine was certain that they had passed the same door at least thirty times. Every so often, the hall would branch off into identical corridors that seemed to stretch with no end in sight. Frankly, Elaine found it amazing that anyone could find their way around in here. Every hallway and room looked exactly the same! Red carpet, identical wooden table, same bonsai plant, everything! Elaine stopped counting when they passed the twenty-second hall.

Thankfully, Sumomo seemed to know the place very well and would steer Elaine down different halls from time to time. Sumomo looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"It's not far now," reported the servant girl cheerfully.

Elaine nodded in understanding and smiled back. Sumomo led Elaine to a long set of stairs followed by an even longer hallway. A few minutes later, Sumomo came to a stop in front of a doorway that seemed much bigger than the rest. Cautiously, Sumomo opened the door a crack. Panti and Kurama were already inside and from the sound of things, they were having an argument.

"Panti wants it, my precious. Why should 'he' get to use it's power?! Panti says we take the jewel ourselves!" shouted Panti.

"Fool, treason is a capital offence. If Master ever found out about this, you would be killed in an instant," said Kurama coolly.

"Panti isn't scared of him! Panti can easily defeat Master!" declared Panti.

"No force on this planet is strong enough to defeat 'that man' and you know it. Even if you did release your 'other' it wouldn't be enough," shot down Kurama.

"Panti has never been beaten by anyone! Besides, we have never seen Master fight. How do you know if he is as strong as he claims?" questioned Panti.

"I know you've sensed the power within him. It stronger than any force we could ever imagine," replied Kurama logically.

"Which is why we need the eight Aurora Gems. With them, we can defeat anyone!" declared Panti with an insane laugh.

"That is just a legend passed down in Kyokko no Kuni. Honestly, I'm only half convinced that it'll work if we gather them…" Kurama grew thoughtful. "By now, Gloss should have found that boy. Her success will result in four of the pendants being gathered."

"Hee, how ironic that one of the former guardians would willingly exchange the pendants for power. What would her majesty think if she saw Kurama-san now, Panti wonders?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," replied Kurama surly. "Just don't do anything you'll regret."

A few seconds later, the doors were yanked open. Kurama's expressionless gaze took in the discovered eavesdroppers as they tensed for trouble. Kurama's gaze lingered on Elaine for a moment before he wordlessly strode pass without so much as a backwards glance. Panti exited the room shortly after that and grinned evilly at them. Sumomo tried to make herself smaller as she retreated behind Elaine.

"Hee, have a nice day!" said Panti without meaning it before he took off in the opposite direction as Kurama.

Elaine released the breath she had been holding. These men were seriously creepy but what really bothered her was the conversation she had just heard. For some reason that was beyond her current understanding, they were collecting the jewels of her homeland. More importantly than that, Kurama was apparently a member of one of the families charged with protecting those very jewels. In addition to that, Panti seemed to have his own agenda for something even more sinister. Elaine didn't like the sound of this 'other' that he had been going on about.

"Sumomo's scared! Panti-sama will punish Sumomo later!" cried the red head tearfully.

Elaine hugged and patted Sumomo on the head.

"There there, it'll be alright. Nobody is going to touch you as long as I'm with you," soothed Elaine.

Sumomo nodded but stayed extra close to Elaine to make sure that she would be safe. Together, the girls entered the vacant room. Elaine found herself in a large study with numerous documents and reports stacked here and there. A large fireplace gave light to the room since all the curtained windows had been shut. There were several rare objects all around them such as a stuffed moose head, a stuffed polar bear, exotic plants and a very realistic looking tiger.

Elaine immediately went to the desk, where an open report had been forgotten. Elaine took note of a letter addressed to her from Kurama. The blue haired girl sweat dropped.

"_Looks like he knew we were listening in on him all this time_," thought Elaine before gathering up the documents and storing them in her pouch for reading at a later time.

Sumomo had wandered over to the polar bear while Elaine was doing this. She started hopping as high as she could go until she managed to hit the bear on the nose. Immediately, the sound of some mechanical device rang out. Slowly, the bear sank into the floor and slid aside. A strong flash of light erupted from the new hole in the floor. Sumomo turned and waved.

"Follow Sumomo!" cried the redhead excitedly before hopping into the hole.

"Wait! Don't go by yourself!" cried Elaine in alarm before diving in after her.

Unknown to them, the owner of a hungry pair of yellow eyes was stealthily following after them. The polar bear slowly returned back to its' proper place just as the hungry assailant slipped inside…

* * *

The events that had occurred beyond that point were all a blur to Elaine. Try as she might, she simply could not remember what had happened after leaping into that hole. All she knew was that she had woken up feeling drained and exhausted, as if she had just fought a major battle. Judging by the fact that she still did not have her pendant, whatever she had tried to do had failed.

For the past six days, Elaine had been locked up in this dungeon gathering her strength back. Her warden regularly had food sent to her through a thin slot on the door. Naturally, the quality of the food had dropped to being cheese, biscuits and gruel with a small cup of water every single meal. Elaine didn't complain about it since food was food after all.

During that time, Elaine had been slowly trying to translate the book she had found in the platter. As it turned out, Kurama's letter had a detailed numeral system with rough translations for the symbols in the book! So far, she had loosely deciphered the first three pages but the incomplete information yielded nothing that was relevant. It was on the night of the sixth day that she had started translating more of the book when a loud scream echoed throughout the cell.

The next thing Elaine knew, a section of the wall slid aside and Gloss came crashing in on her butt. Elaine had tensed and hid in the shadows just in case she was looking for a fight when Gloss abruptly stood up and transformed back into Naruto! The blond had took a quick look around before a touch of annoyance overcame his face.

"Just my luck! I'm in a bloody dungeon!" he cried before moodily flopping back onto his butt with a frown of deep thought.

It was then that Elaine realized it really was Naruto and made her presence known.

"Naruto?"

The blond spun around in surprise.

"What are you doing here…Elaine?!" was the first thing that tumbled out of his mouth before he suddenly grew suspicious. "Hey, you're that Gloss woman aren't you?! Ha, I'm not falling for that again!"

Elaine sweat dropped and gave a small chuckle.

"Relax. It's me, Naruto," said Elaine.

"Oh yeah!? Well then prove it!" said Naruto as his frown softened just a bit.

"Okay," said Elaine with a small nod. "The day of the graduation exam, I asked you what you planned to do after becoming Hokage. You said to me that would make sure that nobody else in the village experiences the same childhood you had."

That did the trick. As far as they knew, nobody else knew that Naruto had told her this. Naruto relaxed and put on an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Elaine. I should've known it was you from the start," apologized Naruto.

"That's okay, Naruto," said Elaine warmly. "I'm just glad to see that you're alright."

Naruto grinned at that before remembering where they were at the moment.

"How'd you end up in here? More importantly than that, are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere are you?" asked Naruto worriedly.

"No, I'm fine," replied Elaine. "As for how I got here, well, it's a long story."

"Hm?" grunted Naruto.

Naruto's curiosity reached its peak and he waited for her to continue. It was nearly three hours later by the time Elaine had recapped the events that had occurred. Currently, both of them were sitting side by side with their backs against the wall. Naruto was stunned speechlessly by the tale and was especially concerned about Domino and Lee.

"Domino and Fuzzy Brows…they're still alive aren't they?" asked Naruto worriedly.

Elaine shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I don't really know," replied Elaine sadly.

She had been knocked out at the time and so never saw the conclusion of their little power struggle. Both of them grew quite for a moment. Judging by the look on his face, he was wondering if rushing after the Rogue Three without a solid plan had really been a wise move. Suddenly he smiled.

"They'll be okay. I can't picture those two being killed off by a bunch of petty thieves," vouched Naruto confidently.

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Elaine with her own smile before meeting Naruto's gaze. "Naruto, what happened after you left with Jiraiya-sama?"

Naruto nodded once and gazed up towards the ceiling while recapping his own adventure. Elaine was hugging her knees by the time Naruto had finished.

"I see. Your pendant was taken as well," said the blue haired girl quietly.

"I'm sorry," apologized Naruto while lowering his gaze to the floor.

"It's okay. To be honest, it may be for the best," said Elaine much to Naruto's complete surprise.

"E-Elaine!" begun Naruto.

"Those jewels are really dangerous when together and I've always wondered what it would be like not to have to guard them anymore. However…" Elaine smiled. "There's no way I'll let them fall into the wrong hands."

Naruto grinned at that. This was the Elaine he knew.

"Yeah! We'll find a way out of here and have our pendants back in no time!" declared Naruto confidently before standing up and advancing towards the steel door.

"Naruto?" said a curious Elaine when Naruto took a low stance.

"I'll get us out of here. No problem!"

Elaine watched as Naruto rushed towards it and attempted a shoulder tackle. As expected, the door didn't so much as cave in from his effort. It was a lot tougher than it looked. Naruto tried a different tactic and begun kicking it over and over again. Once more it didn't budge as the loud echoing of struck metal rang out.

Eventually, the warden came to the door and struck it with his staff.

"Pipe down in there!" ordered the goon angrily. "If I hear so much as another peep, you brats are dead!"

"Oh yeah!? Big talk coming from someone hiding behind an iron door!" shot back Naruto.

"Loudmouth little runt! You must be the bastard that tried to impersonate Gloss-sama! I'll see to it that you rot in there!" roared the warden while wacking the door.

Although Elaine couldn't see, Naruto was grinning for making the man mad. An angry guard was a sloppy guard after all. This meant that there were now more opportunities to escape! Suddenly, Naruto was enveloped in a spectacular aura of violet chakra! The guard barely had time to utter a grunt of surprise before Naruto literally kicked the door down. The door shot backward and took the warden with it! The goon's startled cries ceased when he smashed through the far wall with a boom!

Elaine's eyes were as wide as saucers. Although she knew Naruto was certainly strong, she never knew that it was this much. Naruto's aura faded and he placed a hand behind his head while chuckling.

"Whoops, I think I overdid it again," kidded Naruto while glancing over his shoulder.

Elaine stood up and gazed into Naruto's eyes with growing admiration.

"That was pretty neat, Naruto. Honestly, nothing is impossible for you," complimented the blue haired girl.

"Yeah. Well, almost nothing," admitted Naruto quietly while softening his gaze.

Elaine heard the sound of Naruto taking a breath before he turned towards Elaine with an almost hesitant look on his face. It passed quickly enough and he met Elaine's gaze with hopeful ones. After a moment, he spoke.

"Elaine…there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

Jiraiya sat up with a groan due to the uncomfortable feel of a full bladder. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to drink so much sake before going to bed. It wasn't doing his pounding head much justice either. The old man had just folded back his bed sheet and stood up when he noticed ink paw prints on the floor. Jiraiya followed them with his eyes to the table with both an empty chocolate box and a letter on its' surface.

It was then that he realized that Naruto wasn't in the room. Warily, Jiraiya moved to pick up the note figuring that Naruto had wanted to let him know that he was still working on the Rasengan. His prediction was wrong however. It also didn't help that a certain cat had smeared the ink earlier.

_Jiraiya-donut,_

_I'm sorry for leaving without smelling you first. It's complicated, but I'm looking for some place call Logue Market. _

A sizable portion of the note was covered in cat paws and chocolate after that.

_PS: Buy me ramen when I get back._

_Dattebayo._

Jiraiya scratched his head in total confusion. The only part of the letter that made any sense to him was the ramen request. Jiraiya was too tired to try figuring out what it meant right away. It would just have to be toilet paper while he pondered it…

* * *

"Elaine…I am the container for the Nine Tailed Fox," revealed Naruto quietly.

Elaine's mouth formed an O of surprise. This was by far the most shocking news she had ever heard. So much so that she couldn't speak for a moment. When she did, she was trembling with hardened eyes.

"So that's why? That was the reason why everyone treated you like crap all the time? All the name calling and suffering, because of something you had no control over!? That's just wrong!" voiced Elaine angrily. "Naruto…why didn't you tell me sooner? If I had known, I would've done all that I could to take you away from all of that and you wouldn't have had to suffer anymore."

This time, real tears were in the corners of her eyes.

It was Naruto's turn to be surprised. For one, nobody had ever openly expressed anger for the way Naruto had been treated. Nor had anyone ever shown such strong compassion for him. Lastly, for the second time, Naruto witnessed the rare sight of an upset Elaine. The thoughts were both comforting and something else that Naruto didn't understand at the moment.

"I'm sorry. I was afraid," murmured Naruto quietly with just a small smile.

Before anything more could be said, the cries of several guards begun rapidly approaching the cell. The time for the great escape was upon them at last! Quickly Elaine rushed to Naruto's side and took his right hand in her own, much to his surprise.

"I still believe in you, Naruto. Nothing is going to change that," said Elaine with a slight flush.

Naruto smiled and nodded with a flush of his own. For the second time, Naruto had been accepted! Together, the duo rushed out of the cell…

* * *

"HE WHAT!?" cried Jiraiya around this time.

The old man dashed out of the bathroom with a long tail of toilet paper dangling from his pajama pants. To say that Jiraiya was mad was an understatement. After giving careful thought to Naruto's letter, he had finally figured out where Naruto had run off to.

"Geez, that kid is troublesome! Against those three, he has no chance of making it out of there alive!" grumbled Jiraiya while dashing to his room to get dressed.

The Toad Sage only hoped he would make it in time to save his knuckleheaded student…

* * *

Hey hey hoo! Aninene is finally back! First off, many apologies for the insanely long wait time. I got distracted far too much and it didn't help that my roommate fried my old pc. Sadly, my original story plan is gone along with it so now I'll be making things up as I go along. This sucks! T-T

Anyway, on to the reviews!

Digi fan: Yep, no imposters this time! XD

CodeKyuubi: I can't thank you enough! A lot of the corrections made to all of the chapters I have you to thank for:3

zerodragon: Yep, pretty accurate guesses:) lol yeah, Sasuke was already emo enough but the shuffle with Itachi will only make him even more so! XD

cooltony101neo: On average, there are about 15,000 words for most chapters. Not too shabby eh? XD it was mentioned earlier but the Dragon Clan prefer absolute secrecy so that their training methods can never be stolen. Other than that, they wander about Konoha freely when needed. With my old plans I was planning on breaking 100 chapters but since they have been lost with my old pc I don't really know right now. (sweat drop) The Fourth won't be physically coming back anymore, but he will make at least two more appearances later on. :D

jbalman: No spoilers from these lips but your guess is practically right on the money:D Yayz, I'm glad you loved it:D

Ant Crown: lol I hear you. His loud nature is partially what makes the show funny though when it comes to the jokes. XD I feel sorry for the guy who has to cough up a fifty. Good thing it wasn't a bet. XD

Kami Kurokaze: Yep, and it'll only get better! (I hope, lol)

Evil Riggs: Don't give up, you're almost here! XD Hope you're enjoying it so far.

Sycren: Hooray! Another victory! I'm glad you love it so far! There's still a long ways to go. :D

Suavesky: hehe thanks:3 Yep, Naruto will once more be undergoing a training program for the continuation of the Chuunin Exam. This one will have a major impact on the story to, according to my memory of my old plan. :D

Kwisatz Haderach: (Nervous chuckle) Yeah, I learned my lesson about that already. Actually I made the names up, sorry if they sound too American. The only names I used from real people were my cousin Rose and Kenpou instructor Glen. :3

Ero-kun: I happy that you're enjoying it! Lol Naruto will need just a few more chapters before he matures completely but you'll get your wish soon. :D He'll still be loud at times for humor purposes though.

deathdealer0: Thanks and sorry again for the delay. (sweat drop) lol that I am! (Doctor Evil Pose)

Edengrave: Sorry about the first ten chapies being that way, but they were important. (sweat drop) Yayz it sounds like you're loving the fic now! XD True, the current Naruto would be a terrible Genjutsu user. It requires a high IQ and the ability to get every detail right to avoid making the illusion obvious. Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are his true strengths. :D Yeah, I wish I had a brother like Xi! That would be so cool! XD A wise observation and you're right. Calm and rational fighters will have little to no problems with hotheads that jump into things. :) Ah the Rasengan. Okay, his chakra control is way better than it was in the anime and manga as you can tell since he breezed through the first part. The reason why he's having trouble with the rubber ball is because he's lacking one last trigger needed to get things going. He'll get that trigger in the next chapter. :3

shadowwolf: Thanks a lot :) And sorry about the delay again, I'll do my best from here on out.

nee4speed111: lol thank you. I'll try to stay on schedule from now on :D

Ryuu Kazeno: Good opinions but not entirely true. The chakra aura parts you mentions were all done before in both the anime and manga by the Hokage during his fight with Orochimaru and Naruto during his battle with Neji and Sasuke respectively. You're right about the starting strength of my OCs though. Sorry about that (sweat drop) True, it isn't as cool being taught by someone in your own age group by there's nothing wrong with it either. Genmaru was basically bring Naruto up to scratch with his fellow dragon clan members so that he'll be able to handle the training the adult males are going to make him go through later. If he trained right off the bat with an adult dragon clan member before, he would've died from the overwhelming difficulty. (sweat drop) Ah okay, I'll focus a bit more on stealth during battles to add to the spice. :3

Naruto's Wings: Ack! I can't feel my spine!! XD I also want to thank you as well, you helped me a lot during the editing phase of the chapters by pointing those out. :D

Okami: LOL good one! You're in luck, not too long from now the Dragon Clan will take over a sizable chunk of the fic until after the time skip:D You'll be seeing a lot of the Dragon Clan until then!

drkchidragon: It's a long story that worthy of another chapter really. I don't want to spoil it but the dungeon scene gave a tiny hint of foreshadowing. Elaine's memories of what happened will be brought to light in just a little bit.

ronintoturi: You got it! And once again sorry about the delay.

Havock: I know. I'm still trying to find my sapphire ring. :( Fortunately Naruto and company are luckier than me XD

abhishek20: Heh, thanks for saying that. :D

That's all for the reviews folks. On to the beloved Ranks!

Elaine - C Rank with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using her Limit Break on the Rogue Three

Zeras - B Rank

Lee - C Rank

Lee - C Plus Rank without his weights and armed

Lee - B Rank when using chakra gates

Domino - C Rank

Panti - C Plus Rank

Panti - B Rank in Iron Body Mode

Kurama - B Minus Rank

Gloss - C Plus Rank

Gloss - B Rank using Mandomon

This chapter was more for laughs and future story building. Our next chapter will be one last wild ride for the pendant retrieval and great escape. You won't want to miss it! Until next chapter! Ta ta now!


	18. Never Corner a Fox!

**There is no Such Thing as Coincidence!**

**Never Corner a Fox!**

"The prisoners are escaping!"

"Quick! After them!"

"Skin them alive!"

These were several of the many jeers and cries the guards were spouting upon spotting both Naruto and Elaine dashing out of the cell they had been in. Naruto was in the lead with Elaine's following close behind. Elaine's right hand was united with Naruto's left hand as they dashed down a long hall.

The hall was gloomy and damp and reeked of sweat and mildew. Several rats were scurrying about here and there as well. From what the duo could see, there were three corridors and one set of stairs. Since the guards were coming from the direction of the stairs, that route was out of question. Relying on instincts, Naruto picked a random direction.

"This way, Elaine!" cried Naruto while dashing down the middle hall with Elaine's hand still in hand.

Not even twenty seconds later, the guards rounded the corner after them. Everyone's legs were pumping hard enough for the loud sound of their footfalls to echo throughout the hall like thunder. Naruto and Elaine were quickly passing cell after cell with thin, starving or literally rotting prisoners trapped within them. As far as they could tell, no other cell had an iron door on it.

Still, the sight and smell of the dying inmates were terrible to behold. As much as Naruto and Elaine wanted to help them, that knew that they would have no time to stop until they managed to shake off their pursuers. In little time at all, a branch in the path appeared. Naruto promptly took the right path.

"Damn kids! Quit running!" roared one of the guards.

"Shut up!" shot back Naruto over his shoulder before steering them down another branch.

This time, much to the duo's satisfaction, there was only one path left with several barrels nearby. Naruto and Elaine both came to a stop and each tipped a barrel over. They then used their foot to shove them at the pursuing guards. Unable to stop due to how fast they were running, the goons were all tripped up and fell over each other in a mass of squirming bodies.

Both Naruto and Elaine chuckled at the sight before turning to continue their escape. Several curses and violent threats chased after their backs as the guards struggled to untangle themselves. The duo thanked their lucky stars upon spotting a staircase ahead. They had no sooner reached it when a short and skinny thug with a dagger in hand dashed down to intercept them. Naruto and Elaine leaped aside in opposite directions and both stuck their foot out at the same time. The poor bandit could only scream as he tripped and tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs.

Naruto and Elaine winched when he hit the ground with a loud crash that was sure to leave a mark. Anyway, with no further obstacles at the moment, the duo dashed upstairs to freedom from this oppressive dungeon…

* * *

In a bandit camp where sticking your nose out too far and not keeping one's head down was asking for trouble, Kurama was doing just the opposite. The moon swordsman was quietly studying in the mansion's library while occasionally jotting something down in a small journal. As the perfect example of trouble free behavior, Kurama could not understand why the library door was kicked open with trouble standing on the opposite side. Two ugly goons and the ever annoying Panti rushed into the room and begun yelling all at the same time. Yeah, it wasn't doing him any favors and he could already feel a migraine coming on.

"Panti, kindly slow down and tell me what this is all about," said Kurama warily.

"Prison break! The girl and some unknown blond kid escaped from the cell! They're causing a major ruckus on the first floor's east wing! Panti thought you might want to come check it out," rambled Panti while grinning both excitedly and stupidly at the same time.

Kurama lightly begun tapping his chin with his pen in a thinking pose.

"Intriguing. That cell is suppose to be pretty sturdy. I can't picture anyone other than you or that girl that was traveling with Elaine-hime being able to break that door down. This blond child, tell me more about him," requested Kurama.

"Right. This is just what I heard from the guys groaning on the floor. Apparently, he's surprisingly quick and rather skilled at Taijutsu. As of yet, nobody has been able to touch him. The girl has also beaten her fair share of our subordinates," recapped Panti.

Kurama set his pen down and stood up. Wordlessly, he strode pass Panti and left the room. For the moon swordsman, there was something important he had to confirm…

* * *

Naruto hopped back and skidded to a halt with a kunai in hand. The blond boy had his eyes narrowed in a look of warning to the large group of goons advancing on him. Each of them were carrying lethal and pointy weapons that seemed to be there only source of confidence against Naruto. Even then, it was small. This kid was scary and easily mopping the floor with the lot of them.

The same held true for Elaine as well. Two hundred battle hardened thugs had engaged them a few minutes ago, now only sixty were still standing. Currently, none of the creeps dared to come any closer and were frantically trying to find a way to attack.

"This isn't over, you brats! Sooner or later Gloss-sama, Panti-sama and Kurama-sama will come and fix you both!" bellowed one of the goons bravely.

"Yeah!" chorused his comrades.

All of them were silenced when Naruto smashed some smoke pellets to the ground. Elaine felt Naruto take hold of her hand. Together, they dashed through the smokescreen in the opposite direction as the thugs.

"Damn it! They're getting away!" they heard some of the muscle heads say as they rounded a corner.

"Geez, there's no end to this! We must've passed the same hall at least a dozen times!" grumbled Naruto as he frantically sought out an escape route.

Elaine was thinking the exact same thing while wishing over an over again that Sumomo would come and point them in the right direction. To be honest, Elaine was really worried about her. She just hoped that nothing bad had happened to her after leaping into that hole.

After awhile of making random turns, the duo found themselves dashing out into a large ballroom area. Naruto gleefully took note of a set of stairs leading upwards in the far corner of the room! The blond was just about to make a beeline for it when an arrow suddenly landed in his path. Naruto and Elaine came to a halt and glanced up to find themselves surrounded on all sides by archers.

The robbers were standing on the upper balcony that overlooked the ballroom. Worse than that, the cries of the thugs from before were getting louder from the way they had came. To say the least, the situation looked really bad.

"Where do you punks think you're going!?" demanded one of the archers heatedly.

"We should get some good target practice here, boys!" instigated another.

"The person who manages to hit the blond one in the head gets an extra cut of the spoils during our next raid!" chipped in a third.

"Yeah!" chorused the rest of them.

The thieving archers all then took aim. Naruto and Elaine's eyes met out the corners of each. Slowly they nodded to each other. Being Shinobi who shared a close bond, they each knew what the other was thinking without having to speak.

In unison, they acted. Elaine kneeled and begun rapidly forming seals while Naruto formed just one.

"Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Sixty shadow clones appeared with some of the clones standing on the shoulders of others. The resulting circular wall that the many Narutos had formed served to hide Elaine and the real Naruto from view! The clones at the top of the wall begun forming seals of their own.

"Fire!" roared the leader of the archers.

Arrows begun to fly just as the clones drew breaths.

"Katon, Kaiten Karyuu Endan!"

The lower height clones begun revolving on the spot. The resulting hail of blazing hot fireballs all merged together as they traveled to form one massive inferno of raw flames! The archers that were unfortunate enough not to take cover in time, found their clothes catching flames and their skin peeling slightly. The arrows themselves were all burned to ash.

"AHHH!" screamed many of the ones rolling about on the ground.

"Damn it! Fall back!" ordered the leader as the temperature of the room increased.

All of them were quick to do just that. Had any of them been paying attention to the stairs, they would have seen the real Naruto and Elaine reassuming their shapes from a moving mass of water. The clever duo quietly escaped while Naruto's clones held the enemy at bay for awhile…

* * *

Gloss was in an usually cheery mood as she followed the path of chaos and destruction that Naruto and Elaine had left in their wake. For anyone who knew Gloss, a cheery one was an especially dangerous one. The goons laying on the floor all groaned when Gloss stepped on them. She had only one goal in mind and could care less about the health of her battered subordinates.

"He came! He came after all! Teehee, I can't wait to play with him again!" said Gloss to herself in hyper kid mode while flushing.

Yes, the head of one of the most dangerous criminal syndicates had taken a liken to Uzumaki Naruto! The thought was scary in its own right.

"Ready or not, cutie! Here I come!" cried Gloss before giving off her annoying high pitched laugh.

* * *

A sudden chill went down Naruto's spine.

"I'm getting a terrible feeling," murmured Naruto to himself.

"Did you say something, Naruto?" asked Elaine.

"No, it's nothing," replied Naruto with a reassuring smile. "_At least, I hope it's nothing._"

Naruto and Elaine had been dashing down a long corridor without any resistance so far. For the most part, the corridor was filled with dozens of glass windows depicting famous works of art and such. There were also several suits of armor present. The area was dimly lit by the moonlight filtering through the windows. The ceiling and shadows lurking here and there were made sinister because of it.

Regardless, the duo pressed on to what was hopefully a safe place. Naruto and Elaine had gotten maybe halfway through the hall when faint whistling sounded. Quickly and instinctively, they ducked just in time to avoid having their heads pierced by a set of black and very wicked looking shuriken. Immediately, they went on guard. Something or someone was in this place with them, and whatever it was wasn't making a sound.

Naruto and Elaine strained their ears for even the faintest hint of noise in the uninviting darkness. Something about this scenario was very familiar and gave rise to growing dread.

"_This feels like the time we fought with Zabuza. This guy must be a silent homicide specialist as well,_" thought Naruto with thin beads of sweat sliding down his face.

Elaine had reached the same conclusion judging by the way she was cautiously scanning every potential hiding spot in sight with her eyes. Both of them were in serious danger. The silence was so unnerving that Naruto begun to worry if the pounding of his heart could be heard. Just when Naruto decided that he couldn't bare one more minute of this suspense, the faint whistling of projectile weapons sounded.

Elaine and Naruto's reactions were instant. The blue haired girl quickly knocked the incoming attack aside using shuriken. Naruto then speedily rushed the spot from whence the weapons had came. The sound of a scuffle could be heard from the shadows Naruto had rushed into before a figure dressed completely in black ninja gear leaped out. Naruto emerged soon after and both he and Elaine stared the newcomer down.

The figure had a woman's curves that was the only clue to its gender since her head was covered in a dark helmet. Strange green and red lights faintly appeared in the figures visor as she sized them up. Suddenly, Elaine seized her own head with a wince.

"What's wrong, Elaine?" asked Naruto without daring to take his eyes off of the mysterious assassin.

After a moment, during which Elaine shook her head to clear it, the blue haired girl pulled herself together.

"I don't know why but this person, I've seen her before," replied Elaine quietly.

Naruto considered that for a moment before shooting a serious look at the newcomer.

"Hey, who are you? Depending on your answer, I won't cut you any slack just because you're a girl!"

The figure merely formed some hand signs, causing all of the suits of armor to spring to life. The suits then begun zipping around surprisingly quickly for several seconds before coming to a halt around them in columns and rows. During the high speed motions the armor suits were doing, Naruto and Elaine lost sight of the woman. Once more, the homicide specialist was in her element.

Naruto immediately took a back to back position with Elaine once she shakily rose to her feet. He was taking no chances and the less openings the enemy had, the better. Zabuza's old quote about the eight vital spots came to mind soon after making them both swallow nervously.

A blur of motion caught Elaine's eye, and she turned towards it only for all of the suits of armor to make a half turn. More motion caught Naruto's eye and he put up his guard just as all of the suits of armor struck a salute.

"_Is she toying with us?_" thought Naruto in annoyance.

Elaine suddenly gasped in pain from a kunai she had not been able to dodge completely. The result was a small cut on her arm. The same befell Naruto not even five seconds later. Before either of them could pinpoint the location of their attacker, the suits of armor begun zipping around again.

"Naruto," said Elaine softly while glancing at her comrade out the corner of her eye.

Once more, a situation in which their close bond allowed them to read each other's thoughts came into play. Nodding, Naruto cupped his hands and braced himself. Elaine quickly hopped back and rushed towards Naruto to be boosted high into the air.

"There!" cried Elaine while hurling a wave of Senbon at the exposed assassin.

The girl in black quickly leaped back to avoid them and glanced over her shoulder where Naruto had just appeared behind her.

"It's over!" declared Naruto while lashing out with a punch only for a suit of armor to intercept the blow.

A quick elbow knocked it aside, but once more the assassin had gotten away.

"Dang it! Enough of this!" growled Naruto while forming a seal. "Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

From several clouds of smoke came twenty-two Narutos. With battle cries, all of the clones tackled the suits of armor and pinned them down so that the assassin woman wouldn't be able to hide anymore. However, said person was nowhere in sight.

Naruto's 'danger senses' went off like a siren. Too late though, the blond was seized in a headlock from behind with a kunai pressed to his throat. Elaine glance for just a moment into Naruto's eyes before readying a kunai like a quicksilver. She then hurled the knife on a collision course with Naruto. The assassin tensing a bit showed that this action had surprised her. Her captured prey just smirked and went up in a poof of smoke. It had been a Shadow Clone!

The woman in black hopped aside as quickly as she could, but the projectile still managed to cut her clothing a little. Elaine narrowed her eyes at the sight of a small tattoo of the number five that was now exposed on the woman's thigh. Something about it was most definitely familiar to the blue haired girl.

The assassin had no sooner touched down, when a pair of orange jumpsuit clad legs landed on her shoulders! Naruto grinned down at her from his perch and raised his hands. A quick and sudden move from Naruto had the assassin falling forward. Naruto smoothly flipped and released the woman in black, sending her on a flying lesson towards a wall. The assassin speedily formed a few seals causing one of the suits of armor to knock the shadow clone sitting on it off. The samurai gear then shot towards her and cushioned her smash by catching her and letting her hit its padded body instead.

The mysterious assassin gently and soundlessly landed a few feet away. Naruto and Elaine wearily tensed for another assault when she reached into her pouch. Surprisingly, the girl held up a scroll with a strange insignia on it. She tossed it to Elaine, who caught it with relative ease. The blue haired girl stared at it for a moment before looking back towards the stranger only to find that she was already gone!

Naruto and Elaine glanced every which way in search of her but to no avail. Relaxing only slightly, they put their kunai away. They then focused their attention on the scroll. Elaine opened it and begun scanning the content.

"What does it say, Elaine?" asked Naruto when she finished.

Elaine had no sooner opened her mouth to speak when the yelling of goons sounded nearby. Cursing the poor timing, the duo once more took off running in search of an escape route. To make things harder on their pursuers, Elaine knocked over a few of the suits of armor that were still intact and planted exploding notes inside. If anyone tried to move them, boy were they in for a surprise.

At the end of the hall were a set of double doors. Naruto and Elaine each opened one and rushed outside to real fresh air and the sight of the night sky! Finally, they had made it outside! The morning sun was just starting to peek over the horizon as well. The only problem was that they were near the very top of the mansion and it was a long way down.

The duo were standing on a long walkway that connected to a tower on the eastern section of the mansion. Elaine paused to catch her breath while Naruto shut the doors they had just cam through and latched them shut with a wooden block.

"There, that'll slow them down for awhile. Geez, if it weren't for the fact that we might've ran into those Rogue Three guys before we found our pendants, we could've beaten those creeps up," grumbled Naruto before catching his own second wind.

Fighting with that assassin had taken a lot out of them both.

"_**These guys are pretty cautious, eh Kodo? Even the foolish humans you defeated earlier didn't know where these trinkets where.**_" commented the Kyuubi.

"_Yeah, interrogating them isn't going to get us anywhere. Man, if only we had some sort of clue to where to begin looking! This place is just so confusing! Who lives in such a big house with a million copies of the exact same room!?_" complained Naruto.

"_**Humans are too strange and complex for my taste. Either way, you and your mate should get moving. Something about that tower intrigues me.**_"

Naruto nodded at that while flushing at Kyuubi's use of the term 'mate.' That aside, Naruto was also interested in what laid within that tower. Once Elaine decided that she had rested enough, the duo nodded and proceeded to scarper across the catwalk to the tower nearby. Strangely enough, the doors to the tower opened by themselves.

Nothing could be seen inside from where Naruto and Elaine stood. It was almost like looking into a veil of shadows. Strange sensations begun to overtake them and almost in unison, their eyes dimmed and became lifeless. As if being beckoned by some strange force beyond their understanding, both of the young ninjas ventured inside as if in a trance. The doors slowly shut behind them and still they continued onward, complying to the near silent voice within their minds. Naruto was aware of the Kyuubi trying to speak but he could barely hear the Kitsune.

The tower was dimly lit and had the warmth of a merrily crackling fireplace lingering around them. There was the smell of miso stew in the air coming from the direction of a well lit room above them. A set of winding, spiraling stone stairs led up to it. The only other room in sight had a padlock on it. The pull on their minds became a bit firmer and Naruto and Elaine found themselves ascending the many stone steps to the room above.

They entered to find themselves in an old fashioned family room of some sort. Several couches and padded arm chairs were spread throughout the room, which was well lit by a nearby fireplace. A cauldron hung over the fire where the smell of miso was coming from. Oddly enough, although the miso was definitely cooking over the fire, it seemed to behave more like a phosphorescence. An old fashioned chandelier added to the light. The raised wooden floor had several carpets and rugs here and there. Another set of wooden stairs in the far corner lead to a shadowy opening. Some tables with bonsai plants and many strange instruments completed the look.

Without knowing why, Naruto and Elaine removed their sandals and entered the room. Both took seats on one of the couches. It was then that the trance came to an end and they glanced about thoroughly befuddled.

"When did we get in here?" asked Naruto while trying hard to remember what had happened.

Elaine was just as puzzled as Naruto.

"_**Curses, boy! Can you hear me!?**_" yelled the Kyuubi at this point, making Naruto wince.

"_Ow, yeah! Why are you yelling at me?_" shot back Naruto.

"_**It's about time! You two were acting like zombies for a second! Anyway, be very careful, kodo. I've got a bad feeling about this place.**_"

Naruto tensed just a bit at that. Naruto had learned to trust the Kyuubi in times when he sensed danger. Animal instincts were never wrong about such things and the giant demon Kitsune's instincts were no exception either. Before long, a figured emerged at the top of the wooden stairs and observed them for a moment. The figure then descended them and came into the light of the room.

Both ninjas were stunned at the sight of an enchantingly beautiful woman with pale skin and long black hair. The woman wore an elegant black dress that was both revealing and modest at the same time. A jeweled collar hung around her neck and decorative arm warmers sparkled faintly in the light. She was somewhat tall for an average woman and met the duo's eyes with her own reddish orbs. Her expression was blank but observant. Wise but playful.

In her right hand was a small bottle of sake that she swilled around slightly. In her left arm was a small black rabbit like creature with a large blue gem on its' forehead and a matching earring on its' right ear. The creature's eyes were shut and it seemed to be constantly smiling at them.

The woman sat down in a chair across from them and crossed her legs. She set the rabbit creature down on her lap and wordlessly poured herself some sake. Once done, she met Naruto and Elaine's gaze with a whimsical smile.

"Welcome. Your name is?" asked the woman in a alluring yet mysterious voice.

Uncertainly, but sensing no reason not to, Elaine answered first.

"Elaine. Harime Elaine."

A slight nod and a shift of her eyes.

"And you?" asked the woman again to Naruto this time.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Another nod followed by a sip of sake.

"Your presence here is no coincidence but an act of fate. Since you are here, both of you must have a wish that you want granted," predicted the woman inadvertently.

"A wish?" echoed Elaine in wonder.

The woman set her sake cup down.

"Finding and entering my domain is impossible unless a person strongly desires something. That is the way it has always been," commented the woman before meeting their gazes. "For instance, I'm aware that you two are looking for objects of great yet terrible power. The Kyokko Hoseki, correct?"

Naruto instantly went on guard.

"Just who or what are you and what do you want from us?" demanded Naruto slowly and carefully.

The woman smiled her whimsical smile again.

"I have many names and many titles. Ichihara Yuuko will do. As for what I want, that is merely to grant each of your wishes. I am what most people would call the witch of dimensions," answered Yuuko calmly.

"_**This woman! I thought I've seen her before! What is that witch doing here!?**_" commented the Kyuubi mostly to himself but still allowing Naruto to hear him.

Yuuko smiled as if she had also heard what the Kitsune had said but didn't comment on it. She gestured to the creature sitting in her lap.

"This is Mokona Modoki."

"Puu!" greeted the Usagi like creature with a energetic wave of its arm.

Naruto and Elaine awkwardly waved back at the rabbit thing before returning their attention to Yuuko's somewhat teasing smile. Like she knew something that they should have already known and had no intention of telling them what it was. She already had them hook, line and stinker and they all knew it.

"You say you can grant wishes. How is that possible?" asked Elaine curiously.

Yuuko gave Elaine a considering gaze for a moment before she begun gently stroking Mokona's head.

"Granting wishes is well within my power. However, it is impossible to do so unless the client is willing to give up something of value equivalent to the wish itself. Nothing more, nothing less. For instance, to find and reclaim your pendants, your ring perhaps?"

Elaine was instantly stunned. Slowly, the blue haired girl dug into her pouch and fished out a small sapphire ring with a tiny crack in the center of the jewel. Elaine stared at it with the same fondness she showed whenever she looked at her pendant.

"This was a gift from my mother. I've had it ever since I was little," spoke Elaine with definite reminiscent.

Naruto was touched by this and felt his heart go out to Elaine once again. She was definitely one in a million, no doubt about it. Steeling herself, Elaine slowly held the ring out.

"Please take care of it for me," requested Elaine with a sad smile.

Nodding, Mokona held out his little paws. The ring begun glowing and rose out of Elaine's hands into Mokona's grasp. Yuuko then glanced at Naruto.

"In your case, I'll need all of your ninja tools?"

Naruto winced slightly. Without his supplies, he would risk being forced to fight these Rogue Three guys with nothing but his fists and Jutsu. The thought wasn't a comforting one. A bit reluctantly, Naruto un-fashioned his kunai and shuriken pouch and fished out all of his wire and exploding tags as well as his Bo staff and smoke pellets. The blond held them out and watched as they all floated to settle next to Yuuko on the floor.

Satisfied with the deal, Yuuko held up a palm in front of Mokona. With a loud "Paku" the little manjuu like thing spat out a golden compass like object which she set down on the table in front of them. An examination of the face revealed that there was nothing on it but an inky black screen.

"This is a Kanshinin Tanchiki. So long as the user seeks to find and protect something, it will always reveal exactly where it is. With this, you will be able to find what you're looking for but be warned. When you finally do find it, you may not desire it any longer," said Yuuko mysteriously. "With this, my job is done. I trust you know the way out unless you'd like to join me for miso soup?"

As Yuuko said this, that whimsical smile appeared again. Naruto was tempted to just stick around and eat but Elaine instantly knew the meaning behind that smile and gently declined the offer. Naruto became confused.

"_**Let me break this down for your feeble mind. You stay to eat, you have to give up something else. Get it?**_" grumbled the Kyuubi.

Naruto sweat dropped at the mistake he nearly made and also stood up to leave while picking up the strange object on the table. Yuuko's smile became knowing.

"Give the Kyuubi my regards on the way out. Also, tell her that she still owes me two hundred years of further service," requested Yuuko smugly.

Naruto nearly chocked on his own saliva.

"The Kyuubi is a girl!?" exclaimed the blond with wide eyes.

Yuuko merely smiled while the nervous chuckling of the fox could be heard in his mind. Elaine seemed just as surprised by this bit of information.

"_Why didn't you tell me!?_" demanded Naruto.

"_**Uh, surprise!**_"

A vein appeared in Naruto's temple.

"_KYUUBI!!_"

"_**Geez, I said I was sorry, kit. What more do you want from me?!**_"

"_You didn't say sorry at all!_"

"_**Bah! I'm not the one who just automatically assumed I was a boy just because of the way my voice sounds!**_"

"_Shut up! You don't even act like a girl to begin with! But that's not the point! Have you…you know?_" asked Naruto with an embarrassed flush.

"_**That's what you're making a fuss about? Gahahahaha! Well aren't you a little saint! Relax, I always close my eyes when you take a bath, okay? Well, there was that one time…**_"

"_Kyuubi!!_"

The Kitsune laugh evilly.

"_**I'm kidding, okay? It was just a joke!**_"

"_It didn't sound like one!_"

Yuuko chuckled, confirming that she could indeed hear what was being said.

"Naruto, was it? You and I will meet again in an unexpected place. When we do, be prepared to confront many trials. I imagine that the same holds true for you as well, Elaine. Thus is the fate of those whose destinies become connected. Whether you choose to give up or not is entirely up to you. You would both do well to take care of each other," commented the dimensional witch while pouring herself some more sake.

Naruto and Elaine's eyes met and right then and there they just knew.

"We will," they said in unison before leaving the tower.

Yuuko believed them and continued to sip her sake even as Kurama emerged from the shadows…

* * *

Kurenai stepped out of her house with a sleepy yawn and locked up. As she had agreed to do with her team, Kurenai, Kiba and Shino were helping to train Hinata from sun up to sun down each morning. Naturally, the red eyed Genjutsu user was surprised to find Asuma standing in front of her home with a box of donuts in hand.

"Kurenai, good morning," greeted the son of the Third with his usual cancer stick in his mouth.

"Morning," replied Kurenai with a curious look. "Why are you up so early and here of all places?"

"Hm? Well, Chouji asked me to help him with his training so I stopped to pick up some donuts for him. Anyway, I was just on my way to our meeting point when the strangest thing happened," answered Asuma in amusement.

"Strange? Like what?" questioned Kurenai.

"You'll see. Here he comes now," said Asuma while pointing.

"YOUTH POWER! YOUTH POWER! TWO HUNDRED MORE TO GO! YOUTH POWER!" came a voice everyone knew quite well.

Maito Gai was traveling up the road with a tomato red face from exhaustion, and his usual grin in place. Seems normal for Gai right? That is, until Kurenai saw him hopping along like a bunny! Kurenai and Asuma's eyes were bouncing up and down with him before Kurenai slapped her forehead and sighed.

"I don't think I want to know, but what in the world are you doing, Gai?" asked Kurenai reluctantly.

"Ohayo! Kurenai-chan! Asuma-san! Today is a fine day to sweat the tears of Youth and Hard Work!" greeted Gai while hopping in place. "As I promised, Domino-san, I'm doing five hundred bunny hop laps around the village for being unable to bring back Elaine-san! It's most disappointing, but nobody wanted to form a search party with me!"

Asuma grinned and glanced a Kurenai.

"I knew I didn't want to know," murmured the Genjutsu user…

* * *

Naruto and Elaine emerged from the tower to be bathed in the light of the morning sun. Strangely enough, no enemies or goons were waiting for them outside as they had been expecting. Turning around, the duo met the shock of their lives at finding that the tower was no longer there. Instead, they were staring at a set of double doors leading to the western half of the mansion.

It went without saying that Yuuko was quite an enigma by this point. Neither of them could even begin to comprehend how the tower had vanished like it did. It obviously wasn't a dream since Naruto was still clutching the Kanshinin Tanchiki in his hand. Speaking of which, the device was glowing slightly. Naruto held it up between them in the sunlight to get a better look at it. The moment it was exposed to light however, a bright beam of blue energy erupted from it in the direction of the new double doors the tower once occupied.

"Should we follow it?" asked Naruto.

Elaine handed him a kunai and smiled an adventurous one.

"Let's see where it leads."

Grinning, Naruto followed after Elaine into the west wing. The first thing they noted as they followed that thin beam of light pass copy after copy of the same room was that the thugs were fewer in number. Only a handful consisting of those normally stationed tried to resist. While Naruto found nothing wrong with the breather, Elaine was a bit more concerned. This was easy, too easy. All the way back down to the first floor, and it was _still_ too easy. Walked right pass the front door. Yep, still easy.

Finally, the beam of light disappeared altogether just as they set foot in front of a room that was for once different from the others. The door in front of them was huge and made of solid steel. As imposing and magnificent as the door looked, Naruto was only interested in what was on the other side. The problem was that there didn't appear to be a way for them to open it. It looked way too heavy to push open with just the two of them and there weren't any handles that they could use to pull it open. Naruto frowned while Elaine grew thoughtful.

"Okay. Now how are we suppose to get inside?" grumbled Naruto mostly to himself.

"There's probably a lever or a switch somewhere," suggested Elaine after a moment.

"Hm, that does make sense but I don't see anything like that anywhere," pointed out Naruto while glancing around for anything out of ordinary.

"Most likely it's hidden or blends in with the walls. Help me search, Naruto," requested Elaine while randomly tapping places.

They did this for about ten minutes before Naruto leaned against his wall to think of a faster way to go about it. Nothing in particular came to mind so Naruto stamped his foot in annoyance. His expression became one of surprise when a part of the floor sank under him. Slowly and near soundlessly, the door slid open and a cool gust of air leaked out of the room. Naruto swallowed.

"Um, I found it."

The duo steeled their resolves and ventured inside to a hallway leading to one final chamber. Inside they met the biggest shock of their lives. This one tall room, that extended all the way up to the top floor of the mansion, was packed with nearly every single thug and bandit in Rogue Market. A set of winding stone stairs behind the mass lead upwards to a large platform where Gloss and Panti were smirking down at them.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Gloss before directing his gaze to what appeared to be a throne placed directly in-between Panti and Gloss. A man sized figure wearing black robes and a hood that hid his face from view was sitting in it. The man's head was lazily resting on his left fist as he took in the appearance of the young Konoha ninjas. Behind him was a mosaic type window with two suits of armor on either side of it.

Warning bells went off in Naruto's mind and even the Kyuubi seemed uneasy. There was something about that man that was beyond logical understanding. All Naruto knew was that he was completely outmatched. A strong urge to run overcame him that was matched equally by some pull on his mind telling him to stay. With difficulty, Naruto forced his gaze away from him towards Elaine. What he saw made his expression fill with worry.

Elaine was holding her head with both hands and trembling as if in terrible pain and distress. The blue haired girl's mind felt like it was being split as memories stirred within her and tried to force themselves into the light. Elaine legs suddenly refused to support her and she dropped onto her knees while still holding her throbbing head.

"Terrible…I don't want to see this. Please…make it stop!" moaned Elaine while tears streamed down her cheeks.

Naruto, who had been glued to the spot, finally broke free of whatever spell he was under and rushed to Elaine's side.

"Hey, Elaine, what's the matter? Elaine? Elaine!"

Whether Elaine heard him or not, she didn't seem to show it. Something had shaken her badly and whatever it was had no intention of releasing its hold. Not sure what to do, Naruto glared in the direction of the man who had the nerves to sit so calmly in that damn throne of his.

"What did you do to her?" demanded Naruto frostily.

No answer came and no acknowledgment was given. The man merely waved his right arm outward signaling the army of roughnecks to attack. In little time at all, Naruto found both himself and Elaine surrounded on all sides in a circle. A pause, during which the breathing of everyone gathered sounded. At times slow and steady, at others quick and excited. Their resolves were solid.

"_Good. I'll have no regrets,_" thought Naruto before giving Elaine one last caring glance.

Elaine was still trembling pretty bad, but she was starting to calm down. Her eyes were sad but becoming more and more alert. Naruto knew that she would back him up soon. Giving her hand a small squeeze, Naruto stood up and took a calming breath. He then formed a single seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four Shadow Clones were spawned and protectively covered Elaine on all sides. The real Naruto then slowly walked into the mist of the hundreds of bandits with shadows over his eyes. Each of them watched Naruto's every move like a hawk. These men, who relished in thievery and death had those knowing eyes on a new victim that was for once capable of fighting back. This was the one thing any thief feared. And the source of that fear now had to be eliminated.

Tension, heartbeats, corrupted hearts, cruelty, bloodlust, rage, killer intent. Each of these things could be heard, seen and even smelt by Naruto. Very faintly, a thin smile spread over Naruto's lips. They had forgotten one very important rule. Never corner a fox…

* * *

(**AN: Imagine that a cool battle song of your choice is playing. Don't have one? Asian Kung Fu Generation 'Rewrite' comes to mind**)

The first of many thugs charged in. Naruto ducked the poor blokes incoming halberd thrust and delivered sheer retaliation to his chin with a leaping head butt. Naruto's feet hit home in his chest allowing him to boost off backwards with his arms spread like an eagle. Naruto's body automatically twisted in midair in a dazzling array of flips just moments before his heel struck the back of another's neck. With quick footwork, Naruto boosted off of the back of the man's head allowing him to easily land on the stairs.

Naruto's serious eyes traveled up them to the hood man above. Instinctively, Naruto stepped aside causing a thug with a sword in his hand to stumble off balance from his failed sneak attack. Naruto lashed out with his foot and kicked the bottom of the poor fool's sword hand. His sword sailed straight up into the air allowing Naruto to land a well placed uppercut to his chin.

The thug tumbled backwards down the stairs, bowling over many more of them in the process. Without glancing at it, Naruto caught the man's sword with his left hand behind his back. Properly armed, Naruto turned and proceeded to climb the stairs with most of the goons on his tail. Naruto ignored them and focused on cutting down those who got in his way. Swing left, one man fell into the mass of bodies below. A few more steps and swing right. Another man fell.

Left, right, left, right, Naruto's sword was a blur that cut without remorse or hesitation. The action of cutting only served to slow him down enough for a few of the pursuing thugs to catch up. Naruto leaped aside off of the stairs into a perfect swan dive. The waiting mass below were no doubt startled as Naruto once more put his unofficial title to practice. Being the number one ninja at surprising people, that is.

Naruto spun in midair and tossed his sword upwards as he went. Completing his three-sixty, Naruto formed seals as he fell.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

A large scale barrage of fireballs bombarded the goons below. Their agonized screams could be heard as they were sent flying left and right. After forty of them, Naruto stopped spitting and begun spinning and rotating like a gymnastic as he dropped. The clones that he made below then went into action. All four of them, after knocking threats away from Elaine, cupped their hands together and braced themselves. Naruto landed on their palms and bunched his legs before they heaved him upwards back into the air.

Naruto caught his sword on the way up and used the aerial skip to appear directly above the platform where Panti, Gloss and the hooded stranger were waiting. Gloss and Panti both looked more than eager to fight but didn't act without a signal from their boss. Seeing his opening, Naruto hurled the lone kunai Elaine had gave him directly at the hooded man.

The figure barely so much as twitched as the flying knife collided with and was knocked aside by some wall of force. Naruto landed in a crouch on the platform and shot towards the hood man with his sword already in motion. The blade echoed as it struck that wall of force again confirming that something invisible but very much solid was protecting him. The man pointed his finger at Naruto and his hood moved slightly as he muttered something. Quickly Naruto performed several back flips and avoided a large chakra cross that struck the spot where he had been standing before.

Naruto's eyes blazed with determination as he rushed the man again in a zigzag pattern. The hooded figure raised his palm this time and knocked Naruto over the platform with an invisible blast of chakra force. Naruto cried out but managed to catch himself on the edge of the platform with his right hand. With some effort, Naruto pulled himself up enough to find that the hooded man was now standing. Naruto glared at him before glancing downward out the corner of his eye.

Naruto's lips curled into a smile that stayed on his face even as he glanced back at the black wearing creep. To the surprise of Gloss and Panti, Naruto let go and allowed himself to drop again with his arms spread. The hooded man approached the edge of the platform and glanced down. He quickly leaned back to dodge a watery arrow. The arrow traveled up a bit before scattering into several smaller arrows that rained down on the platform.

Naruto was grinning as he saw this and watched as a grapple flew pass him and secured itself on the aforementioned platform. Naruto then felt his hand get seized. Knowingly, Naruto glanced to the side to find Elaine ascending upwards via an old fashioned type of grapple propelled device. Two of Naruto's clones were climbing up as well via aerial skips with the other two holding off the thugs below. In unison, Naruto and Elaine were propelled above the platform again.

They separated their hands in midair allowing Elaine to ready another arrow. One of Naruto's clones then formed a seal.

"Henge!"

In a poof of smoke, a second sword appeared! Naruto seized it just as Panti and Gloss moved to engage them. Naruto only had eyes for the hood man and made his clone deal with Gloss while using the aerial skip to close in on his own foe. Elaine was left with the forever weird Panti.

Elaine used the same shot as before to limit Panti's mobility. Unfortunately, the clown was in his normal state and thus way too quick and unpredictable to be hit. The maniac was crackling like a mad man as he dodged every arrow…

Naruto lashed out with a beheading kick aimed at the mystery man's face. He, of course, dodged with little difficulty and readied another barrier as Naruto rolled into the kick to begin landing nonstop sword barrages on it. Left, right, left, right over and over went Naruto's arms until he worked up a pattern. The hooded man seemed a bit strained after awhile and quickly hopped backwards out of range. Naruto touched down and shot after him…

Gloss was having the time of her life even though she was only fighting with a clone. Naruto in general, real or not, just seemed to fill her with some unexplainable joy and excitement. Gloss wanted more of it! Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she lashed out again and again with her Sai. The clone dodged and kept well out of danger range of those weapons. It had not yet forgotten the literal shock of their last clash…

The hooded man continued to leap away from Naruto's swords until eventually he found himself on the edge of the platform. Naruto was breathing a bit tiredly, but grinning at his good fortune. With his swords at his side and ready, Naruto charged in for a thrust aimed at the heart. Much to the blond ninja's surprise, the man leaped backwards off of the platform and folded his arms cockily as he floated in place out of range! Naruto got over his surprise quickly enough and hurled his clone sword after him.

In a poof of smoke, the sword changed back into a clone with the tiger seal formed.

"Katon…" it begun.

The hooded man merely tilted his head slightly causing the incoming clone to shoot back towards Naruto like a bullet! The hapless blond had a momentary look of panic on his face just before the clone crashed into him, making him drop his sword. Naruto groaned as he got knocked through a mosaic glass window behind him and dropped out of sight…

"Naruto!" cried Elaine in alarm.

The clone Gloss had been fighting was distracted by her cry allowing the Sai wielding thief to dispel him with a savage slash. Outnumbered, Elaine slowly backed away as Panti and Gloss closed in. The hood man continued to hover in place and held out his palm as if beckoning Elaine to take his hand. For just a moment, that same mysterious urge from the tower came over Elaine and her eyes begun to dim. Slowly she took a step forward and held out her left hand.

Suddenly, the man in black got seized from behind by a Naruto clone!! Forgetting about the two down below allowed him to be captured! The trance on Elaine immediately broke and the real Naruto appeared in front of the hood man with blazing eyes that desired to protect a precious person. Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out the only weapon he had on hand. A rubber ball.

Gathering all the strength he could muster, Naruto reared back his arm and thrust forward. The ball instantly ruptured into a huge blast of raw chakra! The chakra was on a full collision course with the hooded man and the clone on his back was giving him no opportunity to get away. Just moments before it hit, a blast of pure white chakra came in from below and deflected Naruto's chakra away to the ceiling instead! Bright sunlight filtered in through the resulting hole from impact. Everyone glanced down to find that it was Kurama who had been responsible for protecting the mystery man.

"Shit!" swore Naruto while gasping from the large chunk of chakra he had just used up and wincing from the chakra burns inflicted on his hand.

Naruto had mastered the second stage of the Rasengan! Still, he and Elaine were in quite a pickle now. Not only were they terribly outnumbered, but now all three Rogue Ninjas had gathered. The mysterious man then made another one of those chakra cross things nail the clone on him in the back, destroying it. Naruto touched down besides Elaine and protectively shielded her while said blue haired girl frantically sought out a way out of this mess.

Kurama joined his comrades while the hooded figure landed in front of them.

"To have made me feel even an instant of fear…you have much potential. However, it seems that you understand nothing. As expected of one who has not yet awaken the power of a Kyokko Hoseki," spoke the hooded man with an air of great wisdom and power.

"What!?" growled Naruto darkly.

"Hime, you refused me before at the cost of your own memories. However, I can restore those memories and guide you to everlasting life and happiness. All you need to do is take my hand," declared the figure to Elaine while ignoring Naruto completely.

Of course, Naruto didn't take to kindly to that but was equally curious to what Elaine would decide. All eyes fell on the blue haired girl as she stared at the figure's hand. Ten seconds went by, then twenty. After a minute, Elaine came to a decision.

"No way," declined Elaine seriously.

A faint hiss could be heard from that hood as the figure lowered his arm.

"Why can't you see yet, Hime?"

Rather than answer, Elaine took Naruto's hand and with a slight tug set them both running straight towards the broken window!

"No!" they heard the thieves gasp.

The duo ignored them and Elaine seized a shield from one of the suits of armor just before they leaped. Understanding came over Naruto and with an excited grin, the blond grabbed hold of Elaine bridal style. Just when it seemed that a long drop to their doom would end their existence, Elaine caught sight of the thing she was seeking. A long steel chain leading towards one of the watch towers in town was attached to the mansion's second story. Elaine remembered spotting it the day she was held captive in her temporary bedroom while Naruto recalled seeing it when he first got knocked out of the window.

Once they dropped near it, Elaine hurled the shield onto the chain and Naruto landed on it. Immediately, they started grinding down it, the shield kicking up sparks as they went…

The hooded man watched them go with his arms folded. The Rogue Three were kneeling respectfully behind him.

"Find them. Kill the boy and bring the princess to me. You have my permission to use the Kyokko Hoseki as you see fit."

"Yes, Sir!" chorused the Sannin before taking off as blurs of motion.

In time, he vowed he would make her understand…

* * *

The sheer rush of the wind pushing against them was just as exhilarating as the speed that they were traveling. This was the knowledge of truly knowing what it meant to be alive, to ride dangerously on the edge. Then came the moment of truth.

Naruto leaped off of the shield with Elaine still in his arms. Gravity's pull came and with smooth reflexes, Naruto tossed Elaine upwards. In unison, their hands reached out and seized the edge of a rooftop. Side by side, the duo smiled and by some unknown signal let go. In complete synchronization, they kicked off from wall to wall until they were low enough to the ground to safely drop. Naruto caught Elaine once more and they twisted in midair so that Naruto's back was aimed towards the ground.

Both then completely gave in to gravity's hold and crashed through a straw roof. They landed, thankfully, on a pile of soft straw in the center of a stable. The horses inside became agitated for a moment but soon settled down. Once the debris ceased raining down, Elaine rolled off of Naruto and they just laid there in the straw panting. After a moment, both of them begun laughing. Softly at first then out loud almost uncontrollably.

One thing for sure, that was the most fun they had in a long time. It took a few minutes for them to calm down as the rush left them.

"Well, we didn't get our pendants back," said Elaine with an amused smile.

"Yeah. It wasn't as easy as I thought," agreed Naruto.

Both then begun laughing again until their sides started to hurt. Soon the door to the stable swung open and a elderly man with a pitchfork rushed in. He lowered it after seeing that it was just a couple of kids.

"What in carnation is going on here!? You folks came a crashing into my here stables! Darn near gave me a heart attack, ya did!" scowled the horse breeder in a southwestern accent while wiping his brows with a handkerchief.

"We're sorry," apologized Elaine.

Naruto relaxed as well seeing how the newcomer didn't seem hostile or in league with the bandits. It was just now dawning on them that possibly every single person in town would surely be after them now. Not to mention how it would now be downright impossible to get their pendants back without a miracle or something. Their distress must've showed on their face since the breeder softened his gaze.

"You kids in some kind of trouble?" he asked.

"You could say that," replied Naruto half-jokingly half-hopelessly.

Nodding, the breeder turned around.

"Let's chat more in my place. You folks look a bit hungry," observed the man while leaving the stables.

Seeing no reason not to, Elaine and Naruto followed him…

The duo were soon seated around a small wooden table in a simple shack one would expect a lumberjack to use. Single room with an ancient oven, a small pile of firewood, a small wooden trunk, a tiny bed and a wall of animal care tools. The man, who's name was Beoki, just so happened to be a former blacksmith from Takumigakure. Since his village had recently lost a lot of power, Beoki had left to seek aid from Konoha. Circumstances involving a dept now had him stuck in Rogue Market as a stable hand until he paid it off.

"You folks are mighty unlucky to be involved with those three. With any luck, ya'll last but two or three more days before they nab ya," predicted Beoki wisely while setting two bowls of steaming hot vegetable soup in front of them.

Naruto and Elaine welcomed the meal but were crestfallen by his prediction. Beoki paid them no mind and ladled another bowl of soup for himself. The old man then sat down and slurped a spoonful before glancing at his guests.

"Normally I'd give you folks up as a lost cause, however ya'll seem like decent kids and ya'll are Konoha ninja to boot. Tell ya what, give this request note to whoever is in charge when you get back to yer village and I'll help ya out a bit," offered Beoki while sliding a mission request note that he produced from his vest towards them.

Elaine picked it up and pocketed it.

"We'll make sure the council receives it," promised Elaine.

Satisfied, Beoki stood up and grabbed a hammer, nails and some horseshoes.

"I've got some more chores to finish. You folks are welcome to rest here til I get back," announced the horse breeder before leaving the duo alone.

Taking him up on his offer, Naruto whipped out his medical herb jar and begun to make an ointment for the wounds he and Elaine had earned during their adventure. Elaine took the opportunity to show Naruto the journal she had been translating while he dressed their wounds.

"It's only the first three pages and it doesn't really reveal anything but I think you should take a look, Naruto," suggested Elaine.

"Okay," replied Naruto before peeking at the book over Elaine's shoulder.

_Beneath tranquility, there exists chaos. Beneath harmony, there exists blemish. True purity exists only within the Princess and the chosen eight. Past and future may crumble. Past and future may flourish. First comes hate. Next comes love. Third comes loss. Last a hero emerges. The hero shall use the power of the stars to change destiny. Unable to do so alone, the hero will draw strength from heart of all souls._

_Hoseki no Kyokko, will their chosen ones flood them with darkness? Or, will their chosen ones turn their back upon their world and seek the true form of the heaven's stars? Nagareboshi, the true form of the world's sprit energy condensed into eight crystals. Neither is weaker or stronger than the other._

_There is no turning back. A simple choice. A single outcome. Victory? Oblivion? United? Alone? In the end, the hero may no longer be himself. In a world were there is no such thing as coincidence, this shall be the power that governs all…_

Naruto was frowning by the time he finished reading.

"Do you understand any of this cause I sure don't," admitted the blond.

Elaine shook her head in the negative.

"There's no doubt that this book has all the information about the pendants and what might happen if they're gathered inside of it but, it would take months for me to decipher the rest of it. From what I can make out so far, this is part of the prophecy that was mentioned in this letter," guessed Elaine while letting Naruto read over the old parchment she had found earlier. "The part about the shooting star bothers me, plus what Yuuko said before. It all fits."

"Heroes, stars and a choice?" murmured Naruto thoughtfully. "That's so vague."

In unison, the duo sighed.

"Oh well. I'm sure we'll come to understand it better in time."

At that moment, Beoki wandered back into the shack and tossed a bag to Naruto. Curiously, the blond opened it to find a brand new ninja kit!

"You'll be needing those, right? Those were the last ninja equipment I forged before coming to Hi no Kuni. Use them as you see fit."

Naruto was more than grateful for the replacement kunai, shuriken, wire and smoke pellet set. Best yet, the Takumi made Shinobi gear were in top quality condition to boot. There were even sleeping gas bombs and flash pellets, along with several exploding tags!

"Thanks, old man!" said Naruto happily as he put his new gear in his pouches.

Beoki nodded and moved to the windows. He quickly pulled the curtain shut and peeked out the corner of it.

"Everyone in town is looking for you folks, just like I said they would. Them there fools have already a begun searching folks houses. If yer plan on getting back inside that there manor, now is the perfect time. Security and such'll be mighty light. Get in, get what ya need and get out of town quick. I'll be making my own escape soon. I plan on opening a blacksmith shop in a lodging town near Konohagakure. If ya ever need my help or just want ta chat, you'll know where ta find me," briefed Beoki before turning around and producing a map of the town from his vest.

Elaine took it and looked it over. Beoki then rummaged through his wooden chest and pulled out two hooded cloaks. Both were tossed to Naruto and Elaine.

"It saddens me to watch you young un risk yer lives. If yer weren't ninja, I might've adopted ya," concluded Beoki half jokingly while moving to open the door a crack and peep outside.

During the moment of silence, Naruto was struck with inspiration and smiled his old prankster grin. Quickly, Naruto sliced and grounded two completely incompatible medical herbs and mixed them in with his slightly melted candy box. Elaine was puzzled until Naruto chuckled.

"Laxative," voiced Naruto to her unasked question, drawing an amused giggle.

"Alright, the coast is clear. Get going," instructed Beoki.

With nods and final words of thanks, the duo pulled their cloaks on and rushed outside…

* * *

Once again, Sakura sat faithfully besides Sasuke's bed. The pink haired girl was fully intent on staying there the whole day, again, when Sasuke's lips begun moving! Excitedly, Sakura leaned in to hear what the Uchiha was saying.

"Mom, I don't want to go to school today. Girls keep trying to hug me whenever they see me. That loudmouth Ino girl is the worse," murmured Sasuke.

Sakura grinned in glee as her inner Sakura begun cheering.

"_Hell yeah! In your face, Ino-pig!_"

"Then again, that annoying Sakura girl is a bigger pain in the butt," continued the Uchiha.

Gloomy rain clouds hovered over Sakura and she groaned.

"_Even in his sleep, Sasuke-kun still thinks I'm annoying._"

Suddenly, it dawned on Sakura just how close her face was to Sasuke's. A flush crept over her cheeks as she stared at the Uchiha boy's lips. Since he was out cold and Sakura was all alone, nobody would be able to stop her.

"_Hell yeah! Lay the big one on him, damn it! Cha!_" roared inner Sakura.

A nervous swallow and a few deep breaths to steady her nerves and Sakura moved in. Just moments before contact, the door slid open.

"Hey, Sakura! You forgot your change for the flow…" begun Ino before pausing. "OH HELL NAW!!" roared Ino.

Sakura was frozen like a deer caught in headlights as her blonde rival moved in to kick her bubblegum haired ass…

* * *

"WHY!?" wailed Elaine while running for her life with Naruto right behind her.

About a hundred thugs were hot on their tail.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!" rambled Naruto.

Their cloaks had provided them with excellent cover and none of the goons had bothered to search them. The situation had been nearly flawless and the duo had almost made it back to the mansion. Of course, a certain blond prankster had gotten them busted when a loveable stray dog had begged for food. Unable to resist its adorable puppy eyes, Naruto had fed the pooch a bit of meat that was laying, unattended, on a counter next to the dog.

Lets just say that the butcher in charge of the shop hadn't been very thrilled about it and started chasing Naruto around while threatening to cut off one of his arms. The puppy, thinking they were playing a game, joined in and bit the butcher directly in the center of his ass. Naturally, the big fat bloke went nuts trying to get the dog off and accidentally knocked Naruto into a group of goons. Worse yet, Naruto's hood had fell off.

What happened afterwards was pretty obvious.

"_**You are the most troublesome Shinobi I've ever met!**_" snapped the Kyuubi in Naruto's head.

"_It's all that guy's fault!!_" justified Naruto tenuously.

"You brats are dead!" threatened one of the pursuing goons with a nasty looking mace in his hands.

"Leave us alone, Dattebayo!!" shouted Naruto over his shoulders.

Elaine made a random turn in an effort to shake the creeps off. Sadly, her turn ended up leading them into an alley. A solid wall blocked them in. Both Konoha ninja gulped when they heard the sound of knuckles cracking. Very slowly, they turned around and met all one hundred of the thugs ugly faces.

"Time to die, kiddies," sneered the ringleader of the clown army.

Their lives flashed before their eyes and seeing no way out of the situation without a bloody conflict, Naruto did the first thing that popped into his head.

"Want some candy?" asked the blond while fishing the box out of his pouch and holding it up.

Everyone stared at him for a full ten, tense, seconds. Finally, a majority of the goons shrugged and walked forward with their hands out. Grinning good naturedly, Naruto handed over the box and let them help themselves. About fifty of them ate a piece of the rich gooey chocolate with content grins on their faces. Elaine tried her best not to laugh when everyone single thug that ate a piece of candy gasped in alarm.

All of their stomachs begun growling up a storm and they all weakly dropped to the ground and took a shit on themselves! Their pants were soaked through with brown watery stools and they were all moaning random things like 'My gut is on fire!' or "Damn, this must be how grandpa feels!' The smell was god awful and lingered in the air making the rest of the thugs gag. Naruto and Elaine had covered their noses with their cloaks and used their chakra to climb up the wall to freedom.

Once they had gotten a good distance away on a rooftop, both of them broke out laughing at the moaning creep's stupidity. Even the Kyuubi was cracking up. They were laughing so hard that they couldn't even stand, let alone speak. A pause were they tried to control themselves and looked at each other. Nope, they started laughing again.

"Hehe, I'll never forget this day for as long as I live!" gasped Elaine through her stomach hurting laughter.

"Y-yeah!" managed Naruto just a breathlessly.

"Well, Panti is glad that you're having fun!" came a voice that they dreaded to hear.

Panti stood a few feet away from them with his 'perma-grin' on. As usual, his eyes shone with mischief and insanity. Quickly, the duo climbed to their feet and went on guard. Elaine was definitely wary of this man after what happened during their first clash. Naruto, not as much but still remained cautious after what Elaine had told him about the walking tank.

Panti shook his head and dramatically pressed his fingertips to his forehead.

"Princess, princess, princess. Look at what it has come to. Panti has been given these icky orders to drag you back and kill the boy. It's such a shame. Heeheeheehee!"

Panti once more clenched his fists by his sides and straightened up to his full height after entering iron body mode.

"Come along and I won't have to hurt you. Of course, whether you resist or not doesn't matter at all to me, hee. I wonder what that man sees in you? Well, no matter. Lets get started," commented Panti in his deepened voice.

Elaine gritted her teeth and called her last water sphere to her hands. The blue haired girl was just about to use her last technique when Naruto advanced forward.

"Elaine. I'll try to distract him. Wait until you see an opening and get him in one shot," instructed Naruto seriously.

Nodding in gratitude that she had backup for this, Elaine set to work getting her strongest attack ready. As expected of Panti, he merely shrugged and raised his hands as if to say 'Take your best shot.' Naruto did, starting off with his inescapable two in one attack. Naruto hurled a kunai at Panti and used his speed to move in. Panti of course chose to avoid the knife but he did so by making his living chain knock it away!

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm when Panti caught his punch with relative ease. What more, his palm felt like solid steel! Panti pulled Naruto in and slammed his knee into the poor boy's stomach. Naruto gasped and was fully stunned from the power behind that simple attack. Panti took advantage of this and hopped to slam his other knee into Naruto's chin.

The blond sailed upwards only to have his foot seized before he could get far. Panti pulled Naruto back down while throwing his other fist up. Couple with the powerful pull and the force of Panti's punch, Naruto's guts howled in pain. A spray of blood flew from Naruto's mouth. Panti removed his fist from Naruto's guts and pulled him down completely. Naruto seized his protesting stomach on weak knees while Panti reared back and nailed him in the face with a power blow.

Naruto hit the ground and rolled nonstop for awhile before he finally managed to force himself to stop in a kneeling position. Naruto seized his gut with his left hand and winced while holding himself up with his right. True to Elaine's tale, Panti was crazy strong. Naruto already knew that he would have no chance of beating him as he was now.

"D-d-damn," hissed Naruto while two trickles of blood slid down his chin.

Elaine had froze on the spot with fear when Panti glanced her way. Her whole body begun trembling so badly that she could barely bring herself to take aim with her bow. Elaine didn't get to shoot that shot due to Naruto tapping into the power of the Kyuubi. His violet aura sprang to life and Naruto slowly rose to his feet.

Panti smirked and raised his hands in an inviting pose to grant Naruto the first move once again. Naruto took it and moved behind Panti in a high speed flash. Panti grinned excitedly even as Naruto scored one hell of a kick to his back. Panti used his right arm to perform a reverse flip so that he was facing Naruto and shot towards him for the counter.

Panti lashed out with a buster kick that Naruto blocked with his forearm. The blond winced as the force behind it made him skid back a little bit. Panti wasn't done there. As fast as his super powered frame would allow, Panti begun lashing out with surprisingly quick combos. Naruto's superior speed allowed him to avoid each attack with relative ease while occasionally knocking away a side hammer or a kick that got a little too close for comfort.

Naruto would never have known this, but Panti was a good deal stronger and faster than he had been when fighting Domino! Naruto knocked Panti back with a solid kick to his chest. Panti barely seemed to feel it and was grinning as he hopped back a few times. Panti then leaped over the edge of the roof and dropped out of sight. Frowning, Naruto rushed forward and dove after him.

As it turned out, Panti had moved to the roof of a smaller building and was twirling his scythe weapon with a calculating smile in place. He grinned upon spotting Naruto and hurled it at him. Naruto twisted in midair to avoid it and narrowed his eyes as the living chain redirected itself to try and bind him. An abrupt use of the aerial skip moved him to safety in a back to back position behind Panti. Without glancing at him, Naruto rammed his elbow into Panti's side. The underwear man winced that time and cried out in alarm when Naruto seized hold of his shirt and gave him a strong tug like he had done to Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. That was when Elaine made her move.

"Bakusuiryuu! Dai Futtsu Shotto!"

Panti got sent flying to smash into the side of a building across the street. Elaine's arrow sailed in after him resulting in a large torrent of water that forced Panti to smash completely through the wall. The duo then waited to see what became of the tough Panti. Their faces fell.

Panti stood up and peered out of the hole he had created during his flying lesson with a sneer on his face. The kid was strong, but the lavender eyed girl he fought earlier hit harder. As for Elaine's arrow, well, that had hurt just as much as last time. Barely, that is.

Seeing just now how strong Panti was, Naruto closed his eyes and did what he swore he would never do unless it was in times of life or death. For the longest, Naruto had only been using one twelfth of the possible two twelfth of the Kyuubi's chakra that he could call upon on his own. This time, Naruto was going to use it all!

Panti's sneer faded when he saw Naruto's violet chakra shrinking down into a much brighter and more condense state!

Very slowly, Naruto's face begun consorting with a look of pure rage. A single vein bulged from his forehead and his canine fangs grew sharper. Naruto's eyes lost their coloration until they were just white. Naruto's aura begun condensing even further and become many times more focused as his overall chakra skyrocketed! The half Kyuubi transformation stopped there since Naruto was only drawing upon two twelfth of the Kitsune's absolute maximum.

Elaine kneeled to the ground from her perch under the force of Naruto's incredible chakra force. This was the strongest she had ever seen her crush become!

Beads of sweat rolled down Panti's face as this new equation came into the picture. This was certainly unexpected. Bunching his legs, Panti copied Domino and power boosted himself at Naruto head first for a head butt. Naruto merely held up his right hand and only jolted slightly as he completely stopped Panti with his right arm alone! A gasp was all Panti could manage before Naruto soccer kicked him in the face with such speed that only a Doujutsu user would've seen it!

Panti sailed straight into the air while Naruto kneeled slightly and was just gone. No flash, no blur, he just vanished! Faster than speed of sonic, Naruto's fist slammed into Panti's cheek from above! Panti moaned as Naruto followed up with an insane but never seen barrage of high speed punches and kicks! Naruto ended his chain with a slow power uppercut forcing Panti's head to snap back as spit flew from his mouth.

Naruto spun and kicked hard into Panti's guts, forcing his eyes to turn as white as Naruto's. A knee to the same spot all but forced Panti to hack up blood and bits of his lunch. Naruto slammed his elbow into the back of Panti's neck making him drop to the streets below with Naruto freefalling after him. The thugs cleared a path from the sight of impact and watch in awe as Naruto spanked their leader some more.

Naruto double stomped directly on Panti's back with enough force to make him bounce into the air. The small space was all Naruto needed. Naruto moved below him and kneed Panti in the face. A quick spin and a kick followed directly to Panti's cheek. The underwear man twirled in midair and crashed into another building straight through to the opposite side. Naruto was already there with a soccer kick to Panti's back that knocked him high into the air once more. Above Panti's ascending form, Naruto appeared and pile drove his fists into Panti's guts.

"AIIIIEEEEE!!" howled the Rogue ninja quite loudly.

Naruto silenced him with a two handed smash. Panti dropped and smashed through the roof of a building. Naruto landed besides the hole via aerial skip and begun gasping in exhaustion. As strong as he had gotten, the Kyuubi's power was severely exhausting his body. Naruto needed to end this and fast. A quick set of hand seals were formed and Naruto took to the air.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

Instead of a fireball barrage, two HUGE balls were fired. The first ball leveled the first floor of the building and weakened its foundation. The second made it collapse completely. Now completely wiped out and low on chakra, Naruto was forced to release the Kyuubi's strength. The blond dropped and landed with a crash into a very merciful hay wagon. Naruto gasped for breath for a moment before drifting off to sleep.

Elaine, still standing where she was when the bout began, came back to earth and quickly leaped from roof to roof to get to Naruto before the creeps wised up and attacked him while he was out. So far, only their fear of being beaten up had kept them at bay. It was just a matter of time before they realized that Naruto was too wiped to even hurt a kitten.

Elaine didn't get very far before Panti came busting out of the rubble he was buried under with a loud grunt. Panti was barely able to stand up from what everyone could tell but his eyes were blood red and very evil looking at the moment. Those eyes were locked solely on Naruto and filled with massive levels of killer intent. The only thing going through Elaine's mind was this.

"_Scary…does this guy ever stay dead?_"

One of the goons approached Panti with a nervous but victorious smile on his face.

"Aye, Lord Panti-sama. I knew that you couldn't be bested by some little…ack!"

The poor man had Panti's hand wrapped around his throat and was being held into the air. His face was already turning blue and his feet were feebly failing as he struggled to speak.

"P-pa-panti…ack…s-sa-ma?"

Panti ignored him and begun thinking of various ways to break Naruto in half, fully intent on testing them out on this guy first.

"Please my lord! You're killing him!" exclaimed one of the scared underlings around him.

Panti ignored them and tightened his grip even further. The man's eyes rolled to the back of their sockets and the body begun twitching. Nobody dared to try and stop him for fear for their own lives. Panti tossed the half dead man aside and glared at one of his cohorts.

"Your weapon. Give it to me. Now!"

"Y-y-yes Panti-sama! As you command!" complied the terrified little man while quickly setting his hammer at Panti's feet and backing off even faster.

Panti kicked the weapon into the air with his foot and caught it. He then begun advancing on Naruto with barely contained wrath. Elaine suddenly dropped down in front of Naruto protectively with a kunai in hand. The girl was scared, yes, but for Naruto she was more than willing to risk her all to protect him. That gave her strength and allowed her to do something she certainly wasn't able to do before. Create a sphere of water in the palm of her hand without using a water ward!

"Don't take another step!" warned Elaine with determined eyes.

Panti ignored her of course with annoyance written on his features. Panti was just about to advance on Elaine when abruptly Gloss and Kurama appeared in front of him. This and this alone made him stop in his tracks.

"Panti…take a break now," ordered Kurama.

"I'm not done yet!" protested Panti darkly, thought his eyes were no longer blood red.

"Tsk, such a baby. We both know that you'll lose control of 'your other' if you strain yourself any further. You become so ugly when that happens," pointed out Gloss in amusement before giving off that annoying laugh.

Panti glowered at Gloss before dropping the hammer and putting his hands in his pockets.

"I hate you," grumbled Panti under his breath, but he backed off all the same.

"Tsk, someone is in a bad mood," kidded Gloss without really caring.

Like Panti, Gloss only had eyes for her Naruto-kun. Though in her case, Gloss wanted to play with him rather than kill him. Oddly enough, her eyes begun faintly glowing as Naruto's pendant, that she wore around her neck, went active.

"Mmm, I'm getting excited. Hey, little girl, move out of the way so I can have some fun with Naruto-kun," ordered Gloss evilly.

Elaine merely hurled her kunai at Gloss's forehead. The Rogue kunoichi was momentarily startled until Kurama caught Elaine's projectile between two fingers. As cool as ever, Kurama locked eyes with Elaine.

"Hime, don't you desire happiness? That is all my master wants to give you. What reason drives you to resist him so?" asked the moon swordsman.

"You should already know why. Isn't that why you're making me decipher it?" answered Elaine with a question.

Kurama closed his eyes in contemplation.

"You don't miss a thing. Just as I expected of you, Hime."

Kurama then produced Elaine's pendant from his pocket and tossed it to her! Gloss was livid.

"Senpai!? What the hell do you think you're doing!?" demanded the redhead angrily.

Kurama met her hard stare unflinchingly.

"Our orders are to use the Kyokko Hoseki as we see fit. That's just what I intend to do. You would be wise not to take her lightly," warned Kurama before glancing at Elaine out the corner of his eye. "We'll meet again, princess. Until then, don't lose sight of your star."

Much to Gloss displeasure, Kurama strode off without so much as a backwards glance. The moon swordsman had just became another enigma whose motives remained unclear. Gloss still had a look of disbelief on her face at what Kurama had just done. Elaine as well, though her face portrayed more understanding. Wordlessly, Elaine put her pendant back on to its rightful place. It immediately begun glowing its pale green light.

Gloss glared at the sight.

"I don't know what Senpai was thinking, but now I'm going to have to get rough! Prepare yourself!"

As quick as a flash, Gloss had both of her Sai in hand and pointed at Elaine. Coupled with Naruto's pendant, a massive surge of raw plasma shot towards her! The high voltage blast hit home and kicked up a large wall of dust. Gravity around the area became considerably lighter by the time Gloss's attack was over. Patiently, she and Panti waited to see what became of Elaine. The dust cleared and the Rogue ninja's faces grew confused.

Some strange wall of slimy pink stuff had encaged Naruto and Elaine in a protective cocoon!

"Gamaguchi Shibari!" came a voice from somewhere above.

Looking up, Gloss and Panti saw a person that even struck fear in their hearts.

"Jiraiya is here!" announced the Perverted Hermit with a grin on his face…

* * *

Jiraiya leaped down from the rooftop he was on and landed besides his stomach. The oversized esophagus went up in a poof of smoke revealing a completely unharmed, if startled, Elaine embracing Naruto protectively. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama!"

"Oh, you're here too eh? So how is my knucklehead student?" asked Jiraiya lightly.

"Um, he's okay. He just used up too much chakra," answered Elaine while thanking her pendant for being so freaking lucky.

"Hm, hm," grunted Jiraiya while nodding his head knowingly with his arms folded. "I thought I was detecting a large surge of chakra. Poor kid overdid it again."

Jiraiya's eyes then settled on Gloss and Panti. He smiled.

"How long has it been since I've last saw you kids? Where's the silver haired quite one?" asked Jiraiya calmly.

Gloss begun trembling in fear with gritted teeth.

"Panti, we're pulling out!" instructed Gloss while making to run away.

The Rogue kunoichi face faulted at finding that they were surrounded on all sides by Jiraiya Shadow Clones. All of their underlings were laying on the ground, moaning in pain.

"Going, somewhere?" chorused all of the Clones at once.

"Damn," hissed Panti while moving back to back with Gloss.

The real Jiraiya, who was standing in front of Naruto and Elaine, produced a small 'Bingo Book' from his vest and showed them the content.

"You three are B class Nukenin with a nice price on your heads. Kumogakure no Gloss, Iwagakure no Panti, and Getsugakure no Kurama. Orders are to kill you three criminals on sight," recited Jiraiya smugly before putting his book away. "This time, I'm not going to turn a blind eye and let you off with a few bumps and bruises."

"Shut up, old man! We've gotten stronger since then! Master has given us all the power we'll need to beat you!" bellowed Panti more bravely than he felt.

Jiraiya smirked and bit his thumb.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

In a poof, two nine foot tall Samurai Toads appeared protectively besides Elaine and Naruto. One of them scooped Naruto up and hopped to safety on a rooftop. The second one just stared at Elaine.

"Sagitario speaks highly of you. Let this guy protect you while I take care of Panti. I trust you can handle Gloss on your own for awhile?" asked Jiraiya to Elaine over his shoulder.

"Hai! I'll do my best, Jiraiya-sama!" replied Elaine determinedly.

Jiraiya nodded and rubbed his chin in a cool looking thinking pose.

"While I'd like to say that I can handle these guys myself, it seems that won't be the case this time around. You guys are using Kyokko Hoseki, right?" asked Jiraiya a bit more seriously this time.

Naruto's pendant choosing that moment to start glowing around Gloss's neck was answer enough. The same held true for Panti, who had a violet one in his pocket.

"I thought so. Well then, enough chitchat. I need to get this over with quickly so I can chew Naruto out for being such a blockhead," kidded Jiraiya.

Locking eyes with their chosen opponents, they split up in blurs of motion. Jiraiya and Panti had moved to a large and roomy roof far enough away from Elaine to avoid interfering with their match. The same was said for Elaine, Gloss, and Jiraiya's toad. Jiraiya Shadow Clones locked them all in so that Gloss and Panti wouldn't try to escape…

Jiraiya and Panti locked eyes in a staring contest of wills. Finally, Panti pulled his pendant out of his pocket and put it on. Once done, Panti's eyes grew very insane even by his normal standards. The whole while, Jiraiya patiently waited as Panti dropped to his knees and grabbed his head. Chakra came gushing out of his eyes and mouth in a roar. Then came the transformation.

A Rhino horn popped out of Panti's forehead and an even larger one extended from the top of his skull. Panti's muscle mass tripled as his clothing ripped 'Hulk' style. His skin then became gray colored cragged rocks and he gained a mouthful of brick sized teeth. A large stone alligator tail sprouted from the back of his pants ending with nasty looking spikes on the end. Lastly, Panti's hair fell off and were replaced by a crown of spikes.

Jiraiya blinked.

"God damn, boy! You are ugly! UGGGGGGLLLLLLEEEEEY!!"

Panti roared before crackling like a nutcase. His bizarre transformation had made his already insane mind even more unstable! For anyone else, the sight of this hideous fifteen foot tall monster would've sent them running to the nearest river to wash out their eyes and hide. However, Jiraiya was no stranger to ugly transformations. Sighing at the number of cool guy points this was going to cost him, Jiraiya formed a seal.

"Sage Mode!"

Jiraiya's transformation was a good deal more simple than Panti's, but still left much to be desired in the looks department. The Toad Sage grew a very Sarutobi like beard and the whites of his eyes became black and intimidating. His nose grew larger and a trio of warts appeared on it. The change ended with a large surge of chakra rings around his feet. To put it simply, Jiraiya now looked a good deal more like an old man. Or rather, an old man filled with ages worth of wisdom.

On Jiraiya's shoulders, two very old looking toads dressed in magician like robes appeared. Jiraiya smirked, old man style, and spat a glob of toad oil into his palm. The elder toads on Jiraiya's shoulder likewise spat more oil at Panti himself. Jiraiya then formed a spiraling sphere in his oil covered hand and spat a small amount of flames on the ball of chakra. It instantly caught fire!

"Goen Rasengan!"

Satisfied with his new weapon, Jiraiya rose a few inches off of the ground using his chakra. The Gama Sennin then rode his chakra the way 'Ice Man' travels on frozen air. Panti's crazy bulky and heavy frame wouldn't let him move in time and Jiraiya slammed his Great Flaming Spiraling Sphere into him. The oil drenched rock monster howled as his body caught flame!

Jiraiya rode his chakra current behind Panti and formed seals while his elder toads spat more oil at his back.

"Katon, Gamayu Endan!"

Now fully set ablaze, Panti begun lumbering about. However, the rock monster was laughing! Panti dropped on all fours and, with impressive speed for his massive size, he rushed Jiraiya Rhino style. Jiraiya had been expecting this and clapped his hands.

"Doton, Yomi Numa!"

The rock beast was startled out of its charge and sank a few inches under a small puddle of muck. Satisfied about stopping Panti, Jiraiya rode the current in for the kill on his still burning foe. Jiraiya held up both of his hands as he traveled.

"Sojin Rasengan!"

In both of Jiraiya's hands appeared spiraling spheres! Panti opened his massive mouth causing his pendant to start glowing brightly. All the flames on his body as well as sunlight gathered into his mouth. The rock monster then fired a mega sized cannon blast of raw heat!

"Shiro Tensakai!" roared Panti.

Jiraiya ripped through the blast with little trouble using one of his Spiraling Spheres. The mighty sage continued to close the distance and attacked with his second sphere. Jiraiya's attack fell short of its mark when Panti's chain came and intercepted the blow. The chain was obliterated from the attack and wouldn't be of any further use to Panti, but it had done its job. Jiraiya hopped back a few times and watched as Panti, with some effort, freed his legs from the tiny swamp.

Panti then rushed in once more. This time, Jiraiya grinned and formed one last seal.

"Gama Daira Kage Ayatsuri!"

Panti's eyes widened in alarm as Jiraiya dissolved into a mass of darkness. As quick as a bullet, the black blob launched towards Panti and attached itself to his shadow. Panti gasped as his body went rigid.

"_What is this!? Why can't I move!?_" thought Panti with his one and only clear thought through all the insane jumble bouncing around in his head.

Panti watched in horror as both his clawed hand and his spiked tail moved themselves into position over his heart! Panti was given no time to scream. With a gruesome and sick spleching sound, Panti punched through his hard flesh and pierced his own heart! For the longest, Panti stood with his mouth open in shock. The rock monster then transformed back into his normal form and slumped over, very much dead.

A mass of darkness moved away from Panti's body and reformed until Jiraiya assumed his normal form. The perverted hermit was holding Panti's pendant in his palm.

"If no outside force can break that tough body of yours, then making you attack yourself should do quite nicely," said Jiraiya as casually as if he were talking about the weather to Panti's lifeless body.

With a shrug, Jiraiya reverted back to his more handsome self…

Elaine and the samurai toad locked eyes with Gloss. Electricity seemed to spark between their eyes as the trio entered a stare down. Gloss's hands hovered mere inches from the handles of her Sai while Elaine's were already reaching into her sleeve for her last water ward. The toad merely loosened its sword from the sheathe.

"No wonder you were giving everyone such a tough time. What did you do to become a B ranked criminal anyway?" asked Elaine testily in an effort to make Gloss relax her guard like most villains by chattering away.

Gloss wasn't like most villains however.

"This!" cried the eye patch wearing woman while pointing the tip of her Sai at Elaine.

Elaine reacted quickly and dove aside to avoid the stream of plasma Gloss attacked with. Quickly, Elaine took aim with the sphere of water that was still in her palm.

"Suiton, Kairyuuha!"

Elaine's first and most deadly attack shot forward, fully intent on eating off one of Gloss's arms. It would have too, had Gloss not leaped into a ripple as she had done with Domino. Haven seen this attack before, Elaine knew that it was Gloss's most dangerous attack. The air around Elaine begun to ripple as if the fabric of space was being torn. Electrically crackling warp holes formed as Gloss prepared to pull a Haku on Elaine this time.

For a girl who had been thrown into battle after battle against the worse kind of enemies without being given a chance to rest, Elaine did the first and most irrational thing that came to mind. It came as quite a surprise when Elaine dove into the nearest warp hole without a second thought.

Imagine Gloss's surprise when Elaine materialized within her domain. Glancing around, Elaine discovered that the real world now appeared hazy and there was a thick cloud of yellow mist as far as the eye could see. Gloss's body was in a state of suspended animation with electrical chakra cords wrapped around her. The cords were attached to the Sai she always carried around which, at the moment, had taken on the form of two identical twin girls. One wore a black dress and had the kanji for Ivory on her forehead. The other wore a silver dress with the kanji for Ebony on her forehead.

Both girls had long silvery hair and brown eyes along with strange objects set were their ears should've been. The girls were barefoot and quite attractive. Ebony had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes while Ivory looked purely innocent. Gloss's voice then sounded even thought her lips had not moved.

"You are the first to have ever been so bold as to come in here. As a reward, I'll tell you how this Jutsu of mine works. The moment I use Mandomon, my body is brought here and put into stasis so that it will not be harmed by the effect of the Jutsu. Ivory and Ebony, my adorable little sisters, will then go out and attack my opponents multiple times at great speeds. Each time they do, a little bit of my opponents mitochondrial energy is transferred to me through these chakra threads. Once I've gathered enough power, I awaken my body and finish off my foe using their own electrical energy against them. Most, never survive unless they are quite strong."

Elaine stiffened. A Jutsu of such strength and unique proportions was extremely rare. There was little doubt that this was a Bloodline Limit! Elaine's pendant and eyes begun glowing as she activated her last water ward. Gloss let loose her annoying high pitched laugh.

"That's right! Konoha Shinobi are all the same! What with that will of fire nonsense the Third keeps spouting! I hear the old man finally bit the bullet!" taunted Gloss cruelly.

Instead of giving the redhead the satisfaction of knowing she had struck a nerve, Elaine charged. Ebony and Ivory countercharged, meaning that they were gliding through the air quickly. Elaine took to the air to avoid a low gliding punch from Ivory and hurled a wave of kunai at Gloss. A bolt of electricity from Ebony's palm knocked the projectiles away. Elaine touched down and formed some seals. One of her water spheres then moved into her palm.

"Hyoton Hijutsu, Hyoryujin," murmured Elaine while before blowing on the sphere.

Once more, the head of an ice dragon traveled about freezing things as it went. The most important being the chakra threads attached to Ebony and Ivory. They crumbled away, drastically slowing down the girl's movement while at the same time preventing Gloss from stealing mitochondrial energy. Still, Elaine wasn't in the clear yet.

Clever use of their electrical abilities on each other allowed Ivory and Ebony to warm up enough to reclaim the speed advantage. Giggling, the twin girls rose higher into the air beyond Elaine's reach. The blue haired kunoichi knew that defeating Gloss would be very difficult so long as those girls kept protecting her. Elaine desperately tried to think of some way to at least distract them long enough for a successful attack. She didn't have to plan very long.

As quick as a bullet, a long tongue shot in through the ripple Elaine had first entered from followed by a toad's head. The samurai toad was helping out! Ebony winced slightly as the sticky pink tongue wrapped around her wrist and slowly pulled her in. Ivory grew instantly alarmed and shot the toad a hard stare before sailing towards it while firing several thunder balls.

The toad climbed in completely and begun hopping about to avoid the attacks while still holding on to Ebony. Grateful for the one and only chance she was going to get, Elaine made a beeline for Gloss. This time, Gloss opened her eyes and dropped to her feet. The redhead glared at Elaine's rapidly approaching frame and stepped backwards through another ripple. Elaine dove after her just moments before it closed.

Both girls skidded to a halt back in the real world. Glancing out the corner of their eyes, the battling kunoichi noticed that Jiraiya was dueling with a very ugly looking Panti and seemed to be winning.

"_Damn! I don't have much more time!_" thought Gloss darkly before refocusing her attention on Elaine.

Elaine did likewise with her expression set and determined. Now that Gloss was unarmed, the timing for ending this match was perfect.

"Well, it seems I can't afford to waste anymore time. Sorry honey, I'm going to knock you out now," betokened Gloss as if it were a matter of fact.

Callously, Gloss removed her eye patch and revealed an unusual gold colored orb. The minute light came into contact with her newly revealed eye, Gloss sneered and laughed. Crossing her hands, kunai made of electric chakra gathered between her fingers.

"Mmm, you're so much fun to watch! All the struggles, all the resisting and even going so far as to turn down that man's offer! Rather interesting traits for a princess!" teased Gloss.

"What is it you're talking about!? Why do you people keep calling me that!?" demanded Elaine in a more than fed up tone.

"Geez, I don't know. I just hate giving away spoilers," mocked Gloss.

"Quit playing games!" shouted Elaine heatedly.

"Alright, have it your way then. You, little girl, are one of the chosen eight who have the power to change destiny and even control fate itself. If you wanted, you could rule this little mud ball we call home throughout the ages," replied Gloss with a shrug.

"What?" echoed Elaine in total surprise.

"You probably forgot what happened, but you're the one who caused this mess in the first place. It makes me tinkle thinking of all the amazing things you can do. Too bad, you don't have a clue how," concluded Gloss before as quick as lightening, she was gone!

Elaine gasped as something or other struck her, causing her to hit the ground and roll several dozen feet. She came to a sudden halt with pressure on her back. Glancing up, Elaine saw Gloss standing behind her. The redhead was so quick now, that she had been able to stop Elaine using her foot!

"Now, lets play, gaki! Nighty-night!" cried Gloss while raising her kunai filled left hand for a strike.

Elaine braced herself for impact only to hear Gloss hiss. The redhead spun around on the spot and used her kunai to knock aside a wave of shuriken. Standing a few feet away and looking completely exhausted was Naruto. Gloss sneered at the sight of her ultimate source of excitement barely standing on trembling limbs. The blond boy's eyes were half dropped and he looked like he was having a tough time moving in his weights. In short, Naruto had no chakra.

"Well, if it isn't the hero! Let me guess, you came to help your little girlfriend?" taunted Gloss.

Naruto, breathing heavily, took a shaky step forward.

"I won't let you hurt her," murmured the blond.

Gloss's grin grew broader.

"Poor thing, it must be nice to be so naïve and ignorant. What could you possibly do in that state, hm?"

Elaine answered for Naruto by spinning Gloss around and slugging her directly in the face! Sadly, this turned out to be an afterimage. Elaine spun around with gritted teeth to find Gloss standing behind her with her mocking smile in place.

"Tsk, so close yet so way off! Now, let me show you how it's done!"

With that, Gloss hurled her kunai at Elaine. The moment the chakra knives left Gloss's fingertips, she created more and hurled those as well resulting in a hail of electric projectiles! Elaine countered this with a single arrow, the resulting torrent of water causing Gloss's chakra to short out.

"_Not bad at all. Looks like she figured out that electricity isn't a very good match up with water. In that case…_" thought Gloss while crossing her arms and making more kunai between her fingers.

Her eyes traveled and settled smugly on Naruto.

"_I'll toy with her affections and force an opening._"

In the blink of an eye, Gloss was standing next to Naruto with her fist reared back for an electric kunai punch! Poor Naruto took the hit, hard, to his cheek and cried out as his body was jolted for the second time!

"Naruto!" cried Elaine when the blond hit the ground with a thud.

Gloss smiled cruelly and hurled her kunai towards Naruto's downed frame. Elaine once more managed to protect her comrade by using a wave of shuriken with wires attached to them. Some quick hand work then made the pointy stars change direction to attack Gloss. The redhead leaped aside and pointed her palms at Elaine.

"Shogeki!"

Elaine only had time enough to shield herself with her arms before a consistent stream of electricity overtook her body! The pain scream that followed was met with the forever annoying laughter of Gloss.

"That's right, princess! Scream for me! Let me hear you beg for mercy!" blustered Gloss while raising her palms skyward.

Still wrapped in electricity, Elaine begun rising into the air. Gloss then held the blue haired girl in place with her left palm while gathering a thunder ball in her right. The, oh so cruel, Rogue kunoichi was just about to throw it at Elaine for the knock out blow only for a toad tongue to tie her arms together from behind! Gloss's eyes widened in shock before blazing with fury.

"Curses! I forgot about the second samurai toad!" she growled.

Free from the body numbing shocks, Elaine dropped in a dazed state. Wincing, Naruto rose and dashed as quickly as he could towards Elaine's falling form. A quick baseball slide allowed the blond to successfully catch her before she hit the ground. Completely drained this time, neither of them had the energy to move…

Gloss struggled in vain to try and free her ensnared arms. It certainly didn't help much when the samurai toad that had supposingly been marooned in a death match with Ebony and Ivory emerged from the ripple and wrapped Gloss's waist as well. The toad was very battered and his armor was ruined but it was very much alive. Gloss's Sai fell out of the ripple as well and clattered lifelessly to the ground. The ripple closed to show that her bloodline had failed.

A third tongue wrapped the redhead's legs together! The source turned out to be Jiraiya sitting atop a fat toad with a smirk on his face. Gloss paled at the sight.

"Then Panti…he…"

"Yeah, the poor lad is in my belly now. Sorry for making you wait, now it your turn," answered Jiraiya smugly before shifting his gaze to the downed forms of Elaine and Naruto. "Looks like you did quite a number on them. Just as I expected. Well then, I'll make it up to them by finishing you off quickly."

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm not done yet!" snapped Gloss while a faint yellow aura of chakra surrounded her body.

"Oh?" grunted Jiraiya in an almost bored tone.

Naruto's pendant begun glowing, supplying Gloss with all the power she would need. Her gold eye then released a huge stream of chakra force that the pendant proceeded to shape into the form of Gloss's special Doujutsu technique! A large entity made of pure electricity took form! Gloss had summoned a thunder golem! The over sized brute of muscular looking electricity, stood at an astonishing one hundred meters tall!

"Hm, this might take some time," grumbled Jiraiya with reluctant respect for the kunoichi girl.

He shot an apologetic glance at the young Konoha ninjas.

"Hang in there a bit longer."

With that, Jiraiya bit his thumb.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Gamabunta emerged in a large cloud of smoke with Jiraiya riding atop his head.

"Yosh! Let's begin!"

* * *

With Jiraiya distracted, Gloss begun refocusing her chakra to end this match once and for all. Once more, Naruto's pendant activated! Incredible surges of lighting begun flying every which way into the air before coming crashing down atop the toads binding her as well as a majority of the Jiraiya clones! Gloss was then consumed in a bright mass of light, from the Kyokko Hoseki!

Elaine was completely frightened by the sight. Only one thing could possibly come from having this much power released from a pendant. Somehow, Gloss had awakened the gem's true potential! This was not something to take lightly at all!

"_God! We're doom unless we somehow manage to defeat her now, while some of the pendant's power is still dormant! How in the world did she do that, unless…_"

Memories of a certain man in a black cloak came to mind erasing all doubts of who the culprit was. Sadly, Elaine met Naruto's eyes. The blond was in just as much awe as anyone else would've been. Naruto was just now seeing how dangerous the eight jewels truly were. Abruptly, the surviving Jiraiya clones all gathered around them.

"You kids have to get out of here, now! We'll hold her off until you evacuate!" ordered one of them.

"Run away…?" echoed Naruto with shadows over his eyes.

Anyone who knew him, knew that Naruto was reflecting on the actions that got him were he was today. Naturally, the Jiraiya clones were intrigued when Elaine shakily climbed to her feet.

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya-sama. I can't run away, not as long as my family is charged with guarding those jewels. I have to stop her!" declared Elaine with glowing eyes.

Naruto's ears twitched.

"Harime…of Aurora Country eh? Alright, I'll allow it," said the clone thoughtfully. "One of you, get Naruto out of here," he ordered the other clones.

"No," everyone heard Naruto quietly say while struggling to stand. "It's my fault that she has that pendant in the first place. I won't run, either. That's my Nindo!"

As was the norm, his speech touched the hearts of everyone present. Still, Jiraiya continued to play the part of the stubborn old goat. Elaine could tell that he was about to give in though.

"Kid, you haven't a drop of chakra left in you. You're in no condition to fight," shot down the clone.

"I never go back on my words," reminded Naruto, shattering Jiraiya's arguments in full attrition.

"Alright, you win. Come here Naruto, I want to try something," requested the perverted hermit clone.

By this point, the light of the pendant was finally starting to fade. Bit by bit, Gloss begun coming back into view. All of the Jiraiya clones formed seals and joined hands with one of them pressing a palm on top of Naruto's head. All of the clones then entered Sage Mode, mentally scaring Naruto's mind for life at their ugliness.

"Kanatensei no Jutsu!" chorused all of the Jiraiyas.

Dust rings gathered around Naruto's feet and a massive amount of pressure pressed onto his body! One by one, the Jiraiya clones begun vanishing from existence while Naruto's chakra slowly begun to refill! This went on until it came down to the last clone.

"The Temporary Life Transfer Jutsu will allow us clones to transfer all of our chakra to you, Naruto. Now don't hold back, you should have just enough to see you through to the end," said the clone with a fond smile.

Naruto nodded and reclaimed his usual confident gleam in his eyes.

"Thanks, Jiraiya-sama."

The clone grinned and vanished as well. Naruto exhaled once the Jutsu finally ended. The blond knew that at most, Jiraiya's stunt had restored sixty percent of his normal chakra. It would have to do. Gloss then completely revealed herself, dressed in a light yellow suit of armor. What more, both of her eyes were gold now and her hair had became a lighter shade of red. The biggest change was no doubt in her chakra.

Naruto and Elaine glanced at each other and nodded with the same thought.

"_Teamwork._"

The strangest thing then happened. Gloss giggled, and not an annoying giggle either. This one was more like the giggle of an innocent child who wanted to play a game. That alone was plenty scary in its own right. Naruto and Elaine both got serious and got their best Jutsu ready for action. Naruto crossed his arms and frowned in concentration before calling out his secret weapon!

"Ryuuoh Futon, Kazeryu no Ginken!"

Elaine held out her right hand while her pendant begun glowing bright. After a few moments, a massive long bow that was as long as Elaine was tall appeared!

"Ryuuoh Hyoton, Fuyusenkyu!"

Giggling, Gloss made more lightening kunai between her fingers. The trio then entered a standoff and warily scanned each other's defenses. Naruto note that Elaine's eyes were getting brighter as well. A few seconds passed, then everyone acted!

Naruto rushed forward as little more than a blur only to be knocked back by a unexpected wall of electricity nailing him from below once he was in range. Naruto got knocked into the air but his distraction allowed Elaine a golden opportunity. In the blink of an eye, a humongous arrow of water was formed with the head of a dragon in place of the normal arrow head! Even faster than that, Elaine rapid fired twenty shots all at once without a water source!! Even more stunning, the arrows were moving just as fast as Naruto could go and the dragon heads were alive!

Gloss giggled and speedily, even by Naruto's standards, dodged each of them. The arrows froze whatever they hit into solid ice that crumbled a split second later! This made Gloss grin more excitedly while Naruto stared at Elaine in total awe. The airborne blond recovered himself quickly enough and used the aerial skip to attack Gloss from behind with his sword.

The Kyokko fueled woman vanished from the spot and appeared behind Naruto before he could complete that swing. Naruto winced as Gloss slammed a pair of thunder covered fists into his back several times at crazy speeds! Naruto was then backhanded aside, but recovered just as quickly as he had been struck and shot back towards Gloss for an impaling thrust. Once more, Gloss disappeared before he could complete his attack.

Elaine aimed upwards and fired off so many arrows that the sky directly above them turned black. They all came crashing down all around them while missing Naruto of course. Somehow or other, Gloss managed to dodge them however she was now skidding slightly with a layer of frost covering her boots that was just slightly slowing her down. That was all Naruto needed to finally get in a successful string of combos!

Naruto hit home with a smack to her temples using the flat side of his sword. Naruto then begun cutting into Gloss's armor with minimal effect but causing damage all the same. The chain was ended with a heel flip that struck her chin hard enough for her to reel followed by a powerful overhand strike that knocked her back. Gloss skidded a few feet backwards with a small hiss of pain before vanishing again.

Before Naruto could gather his bearings, two Glosses appeared behind him out of nowhere!

"Clones!?" gasped Naruto before both of them begun beating the hell out of his back with thunder punches!

A third Gloss appeared behind Elaine and tried to take her head off with a bear smack only to be knocked away when a clawed hand popped out of the frozen ground! Soon following the claw, Zeras upper body surfaced and fired a stream of shards! Somehow, Elaine was combining her familiar with her Dragon Lord Jutsu!!

Most of the shards bounced harmlessly off of Gloss's armor with only a few scoring cuts of her face. That Gloss backed off immediately and took to the air while firing plasma from her palm. Zeras and Elaine merged with the frozen ground and resurfaced a few feet away! Elaine once more rapid fired arrows at the airborne pest…

Naruto was having a hell of a time with the two other Glosses, who were giggling as they pummeled their new punching bag. A hard uppercut knocked Naruto into the air where he took a strong thunder shock to the back by one of them. Now Naruto was getting mad. With a cry, the blond synched his chakra with the Kyuubi and used the aerial skip to shot back towards the annoying vixens. His charge was met with another shock that held him in place for a moment while one of the Glosses leaped up to kick Naruto in the chest.

The blond grinned and grabbed her foot with his free hand and smoothly cleaved through her like a hot knife through butter thanks to his augmented Kyuubi strength. That Gloss seemed to fade and become transparent while freezing in time. No breath, no scream, no movement, Gloss was just there. Regardless, this allowed Naruto to use his chakra to free himself from the tickling thunder rays the other Gloss was hitting him with.

Naruto tossed his sword into the air and with his incredible speed, moved into to start beating the daylights out of the startled Gloss. Naruto appeared to be in several places at once as he delivered punch after punch and hook after hook that made them both slowly rise into the air due to the speed of it all. The blond dropped Gloss after awhile with a heel drop to her guts and caught his sword just as it came tumbling back down.

Gloss landed on her feet and hopped back while holding her stomach with a wince…

Elaine dove aside with a startled cry when several kunai came raining down from above when her Gloss begun spinning in the air as if dancing. The kunai erupted into a strong shockwave of lightening that knocked Elaine into the air. Zeras caught her before she got too far and roared more angrily than ever. A steady blast of ice breath was shot from Zeras mouth, causing a large scale blizzard to overtake the landscape.

Gloss landed and begun zipping around super fast, further frustrating Zeras for being unable to land a hit. So focused Gloss was on dodging Zeras's attacks that Elaine took the opportunity to leap off of her dragon's back and fire off dozens of high speed rounds as she went. Caught off guard, Gloss screamed as her body was encaged in a wall of ice!

"Got her!" cheered Elaine while Zeras dove to allow her to land on her back.

Zeras then flew lower and smashed up the frozen Gloss using her tail…

Naruto rushed the final Gloss only to be repeatedly knocked back every time he tried to approach by the same lightening shockwave as before. Growling in annoyance, Naruto hurled an exploding tag rigged kunai at her. Gloss hopped away from it with that kiddy giggle and beckoned Naruto to bring it. Pausing to ram his sword into the ground, Naruto formed a seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two clones joined the original. Naruto retrieved his sword and in unison, all of the Narutos charged. Sadly, the clones didn't do Naruto very much good. Not even twenty seconds later, both clones were being zapped into submission. Gloss let loose her annoying high pitched laugh and gathered as much electricity as she could manage safely in her palm.

"This is fun!" cried Gloss before palming the ground.

Naruto screamed as he got knocked into the air due to giant pillars of thunder blasting him from below. Naruto was spared the agony of a landing when Elaine and Zeras caught him in mid-flight.

"Ugh, thanks," groaned Naruto with a noticeable twitch.

Even his already messy hair was standing on ends. Were it not for the Kyuubi's and his combined aura, Naruto was sure that he would be laying beaten on the ground by now. Simply put, Gloss was too powerful for them now.

"_**Darn, that hellcat is tough!**_" grumbled Kyuubi with reluctant respect for Gloss.

"_That's an understatement! I can barely get anywhere near her!_"

"…"

"_Yeah,_" agreed Naruto.

Elaine glanced over her shoulder.

"Naruto, I have a plan. If this works, we should be able to prevent Gloss from moving."

That got the blond boy's attention. Eagerly, he leaned in to hear more…

Gloss was watching their every move with a somewhat goofy smile on her face. Being drunk with power tended to give people mood swings often. Regardless, it didn't cloud her judgment so much that she couldn't tell that the brats were planning something. Fortunately for her, Jiraiya was still fighting with her golem and didn't look like he would be done anytime soon.

The redhead was pulled from her thoughts by Zeras going into an abrupt nosedive. Gloss took a ready stance and waited. At the last second, Gloss leaped aside and watched while the ice dragon and her passengers dove under the icy ground like it was water. Light appeared below Gloss prompting her to hop away from it just in time to avoid an outward explosion of ice shards. Gloss had no sooner landed when a clawed hand popped out to grab her! Speedily, Gloss dashed away from it only for another to pop out in front of her!

A sharp turn and Gloss once more found a claw emerging from the ground! Nonstop this occurred until Gloss found herself caged in a ring of several hundred claws. Finally she figured out what was happening. Naruto had been making shadow clones of Zeras! The whole thing was a distraction and strategy to limit her mobility at the same time!

"Too late, Dattebayo!" came Naruto's voice from above.

Gloss glanced up just in time to see Naruto send his sword's ultimate attack crashing down on her in the form of a chakra filled twister!

"Kyaaaaa!" screamed Gloss before it hit!

For several minutes, the eye of the storm batted Gloss around while cutting her to ribbons with ultimate power levels. Naruto's sword vanished from his hand and once again all his chakra hit rock bottom from the huge drain of using the sword for so long. The blond dropped only to land safely on Zeras's back. The ice dragon carried Naruto to a nearby roof out of harms way while they waited to see what became of Gloss.

The twister ceased and an almost unrecognizable Gloss dropped straight down. Strangely enough, the Rogue kunoichi turned cold cuts froze in midair and became gelatinous just like the other two. With all three defeated, the see through entities all begun moving like ghosts. The tree merged together to finally reveal the real Gloss! However, Gloss's armor cracked and crumbled away and she was breathing exhaustedly. So long as her clones existed, Gloss was invincible. But, the moment they were beaten it severely weakened her!

Gloss narrowed her eyes at Naruto but was too tired to make a witty comment. Water begun rising in front of her and soon assumed Elaine's form. The blue haired girl locked eyes with Gloss.

"Forgive me. This is my duty as a guardian," betokened Elaine with conviction evident in her voice.

Gloss struggled to move only to note that her feet had already been frozen solid. The very last of Elaine's water sphere moved into her hand and elongated to great lengths. One end of it shaped itself into a unique blade before the whole thing froze into ice. The results was a very deadly and cool looking ice spear! Gloss begun to panic. With no chakra and her only weapons, Ebony and Ivory, out of her grasp, she was defenseless!

Gloss tried to call on her golem but became crestfallen at the sight of the monster toppling over in defeat from its bout with Jiraiya. Gloss had definitely lost.

"Fuyuhoukou no Kaihou!"

The spear was hurled with all Elaine's strength. With a loud 'whum' sound, the spear pierced Gloss's chest and kept going until it landed blade down in the ground several yards away. A shocked expression was on Gloss's face and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her left lung had been ruptured and frozen solid from the attack! A single wheeze for breath later, Gloss crumpled in a heap…

* * *

Elaine seemed to enter a daze as she stared at Gloss's lifeless shell. Even when Jiraiya and Naruto approached her, Elaine's eyes stayed unfocused. Truth be told, this had been the blue haired girl's first kill. The experience was strange and left her feeling numb inside.

A gentle shake from Naruto eventually jarred her back to earth.

"Sorry," murmured Elaine while lowering her gaze.

Naruto took Elaine's hand and gave it a soft reassuring squeeze. Jiraiya had a look of understanding.

"_You did well,_" praised the toad sage mentally while glancing down towards the streets.

All of the thugs were in total shock and some were mourning the loss of their two well respected leaders. They rapidly begun getting rowdy until a riot broke out! The goons were out for blood and didn't care who got killed along the way!

"Not good, we haven't enough chakra to fight our way out of this one. We need to get out of here, fast," said Jiraiya wisely.

Naruto suddenly noticed movement down below, out the corner of his eyes. A horse driven wagon was racing through the streets with Beoki steering! Beoki frantically waved up to them while yelling for them to jump on!

"Let's go!" came Naruto with relief in his eyes.

Pausing only so that Elaine could take the pendant from Gloss's neck, all three Konoha Shinobi leaped off of the roof and landed in their hay filled ride.

"HEYA!" cried Beoki while snapping the reins.

The horses let out a high whinny and bolted at top speed out of the town. Beoki immediately set them on a road that Naruto hadn't noticed before when he first came to Rogue Market. The tall grass was little more than a blur of green as they left the shrinking town behind. The last thing that saw were some of the furious thugs setting houses on fire that quickly spread throughout the town.

Everyone was completely silent as they stared at the conflagration zone of rising inferno. Jiraiya then dropped the pendant he had taken from Panti into Elaine's lap. Silent tears were sliding down Elaine's cheek as she stared pass it into her memories.

"Sumomo…I'm so sorry, I couldn't keep my promise…"

Had it been night time, the group would've seen a star blinking out of existence…

Back in the mansion, Kurama, the hooded man and the black assassin watched the wagon's progress outside of town from the third floor window. Wordlessly, they all turned and walked into the shadows…

* * *

Hey hey hoo! Aninene here! Well this certainly turned out to be an interesting chapter if I do say so myself. Since my original plan for this chapter was lost, a hold truckload of changes were made to it. Hopefully it turned out okay. :3

At first, Ichihara Yuuko and Mokona weren't going to be used in this story but they were in the end so full credit and disclaimer rights goes to the Clamp team:) The main reason they were used is due to a link I'm going to make later with this fic and another one that I'm working on even as you read this! XD If you want me to start posting that one now, let me know. It already has the first thirteen chapters done.

Yosh! To the reviews!

Ant Crown: Yep, quite right you are:D Gloss was living proof of that and she was only using one pendant. Imagine if she had been using all eight at the same time, brr. :3 OMG I love Gaogaigar! That is seriously one good, and funny anime! Good reference! XD

youngjun: lol it seems that way but not really. Gloss had just managed to catch him by surprise the first time and very few Shinobi can fight on par with Itachi and Kisame. XD In the case of this chapter however, Naruto was completely outmatched more than once so yeah. (sweat drop) Well, as they always say, there will always be someone stronger out there somewhere. :D

The LORD OF Interesting: Thanks:D

Chrisdz: Phew, that was a close one lol. Neat, I'm glad you like it so far! More exciting adventures will soon be here! Non cannon of course lol! XD

akuma-chan0326: Sorry about that. Trust me, I've learned my lesson. Never again will I use too much cannon during a fic unless there's no way around it, lol:D

naruto critique: Thanks, I'll keep such excellent advice in mind:D

Pyxl Myxr: Yayz, thank you very much for saying so:D Stay tuned, more excitement is coming your way! XD

Hourou shunketsu: Great, it sounds like you're enjoying it:3 But even after coming this far, this is just the beginning, lol! XD Thank you, for what you said about my cousin, man I miss her.

Yeah! Another chapter down! Some highlights to note are Elaine making her first kill, Naruto showing the full amount of strength he can take from the Kyuubi, the nature of the objects Yuuko took for their wishes, insanely tough battles for everyone, Jiraiya showing off his cool moves and Kyuubi revealing that she is really a girl! XD Ah I'm going to have fun messing around with Naruto and the Kyuubi, I just know it! XD

Hey mac, got a nice shiny Rank? XD

Naruto - C Minus Rank

Naruto - B Minus Rank using one twelfth of Kyuubi's power

Naruto - B Plus Rank using his limit of Kyuubi's power

Naruto - C Plus Rank using Wind Sword

Naruto - B Rank using sword and one twelfth of Kyuubi's strength together

Elaine - C Rank

Elaine - B Minus Rank drawing more strength than usual from her pendant

Zeras - B Plus Rank

Jiraiya - A Plus Rank most likely

Jiraiya - U Rank in Sage Mode

Panti - C Plus Rank

Panti - B Rank in Iron Body Mode

Panti - A Minus in Berserker State augmented by the Kyokko Hoseki

Gloss - C Plus Rank

Gloss - B Rank using Mandomon

Gloss - A Rank in armored Berserker state due to overflow of Kyokko Hoseki power

Ebony & Ivory - B Rank

Kurama - B Minus Rank

The Black Assassin - B Minus Rank

The Hooded Man - ???

One last thing. Lets give a big round of applauds to all the high schoolers who did great on there SATs and ACTs! A second round to everyone who has been accepted into college! How about that, huh? Yeah, knowledge is power! Be blessed everyone!

Until the next chapter! Ta ta now guys!


	19. Slam, Bam, Throttle and Roll!

**Pedophiles, Gamblers and Perverts Collide!**

**Slam, Bam, Throttle and Roll!**

Three days of recovery, three days of reflection. That was how long it took for Naruto and Elaine to gather their strength. Shortly after escaping that realm of bloodlust and despair, Beoki had dropped the group off at the tunnel and sent away the horses. Nobody spoke, haven come to a silent understanding. Once they arrived back in the tourist town, Beoki and the others went their separate ways.

Jiraiya had immediately checked them all into a hotel. From there, Naruto and Elaine were asked to filled Jiraiya in on every detail of their adventure. Several things had impressed Jiraiya greatly. The discovery of the journal Elaine was translating, their meeting with Yuuko, and Naruto's mastery of the Rasengan's second stage. The whole while, Jiraiya kept thinking to himself that these particular two had the potential to become the greatest ninjas Konoha had ever produced. The rest was history.

Regardless, the group soon turned back to their mission of finding Tsunade. As it turned out, Elaine was more than welcome to stay with them. Naruto became a bit protective of his crush though and wisely would never leave her alone with Jiraiya if he could help it. Once, Naruto had caught the perverted old man listening at Elaine's bedroom door with his 'research notebook' in hand. Naruto mercilessly beat him with a desk, got tired, made a shadow clone and let the clone beat him some more.

Jiraiya hadn't tried anything funny since, but Naruto still shot mistrustful looks at him whenever he so much as glanced at Elaine. Said girl was currently out in the market shopping for rations and supplies and asking around for information on Tsunade. Naruto and Jiraiya were waiting for her just outside the town in a tree filled clearing. There, Jiraiya was teaching Naruto the final stage of the Spiraling Sphere.

"The time has finally come for you to attempt the third step," announced Jiraiya with a smirk while reaching into his vest.

Naruto watched curiously as Jiraiya withdrew and blew up a balloon. He tossed it to Naruto and proceeded to blow up a second one. Naruto waited patiently, figuring that step three would most likely be something really difficult.

"Step one focused on rotation while step two concentrates on power. For step three, you will be combining what you have learned. Observe," said Jiraiya while holding up his balloon.

Naruto stared for awhile, but nothing unusual was happening with the balloon. The blond frowned in confusion.

"What am I suppose to be seeing?" he asked.

Jiraiya chuckled.

"It just looks like I'm holding it right? Well, let's take a look at what's happening inside the balloon," said Jiraiya while holding up his free hand.

A sphere of rotating blue chakra appeared in his palm. Naruto gave a start of total surprise and recognition.

"That move…it's…"

"The technique of the Fourth Hokage, Rasengan," supplied Jiraiya. "This is what you've been learning."

"Whoa," breathed Naruto in awe. "So that's what you're doing with your other hand?"

"Yes, now listen up. To do this, you must rotate and maintain the power of your chakra at one-hundred percent. From there, create a thin layer between the Spiraling Sphere and the balloon. If done correctly, the balloon shouldn't pop," explained Jiraiya.

"There a reason for this, right?" predicted Naruto.

Jiraiya smirked and tossed his balloon to Naruto before approaching a nearby tree.

"Watch. This is what happens if you don't maintain full power."

Jiraiya created a second ball of chakra that was spinning a bit slower than before. With a loud "Hah," Jiraiya thrust it at the base of the tree. The results was a quick flash of light that canceled out the ball. The tree now had a large spiral carved into the impact point that looked a lot like a bulls eye mark. Naruto found this impressive, even though it was incorrect.

"Now, watch what happens at full power."

A third ball was formed. Jiraiya thrust this one a bit more slowly so that Naruto could observe how it worked. Like a revolving drill, the sphere grinded away a massive chunk of the tree considering how small the chakra ball was. Naruto was stunned speechless.

"If done correctly, the sphere will not lose any power. This will concentrate and enhance its' destructive powers to ultimate levels. Got it?" concluded Jiraiya.

Naruto stared at the balloon and grinned.

"Yeah, I got it," replied Naruto with growing excitement.

Frowning in concentration, Naruto held up the balloon and gathered chakra within it. Dust rings begun gathering around his feet and strong pressure gushed out of his body as he tried to remember how he had done it during his bout with the hooded man. Naruto's teeth gritted slightly and started grunting as the strain of the technique begun catching up to him. Jiraiya was more than impressed with Naruto's chakra levels and control but smirked slightly when he saw Naruto having trouble. He knew exactly how difficult this technique was to perform.

The balloon lasted about twenty seconds longer before bursting outward in a strong blast of chakra. Naruto winced and seized his hand while gasping.

"D-damn!" hissed the blond.

"Nice, but you can't hold back on the power. Remember, one-hundred percent," reminded Jiraiya while proudly smiling at Naruto for doing so well. "_Your potential is simply astounding. Not even the Fourth lasted that long the first time he tried this._"

"One more time. I want to do it again," declared Naruto seriously and determinedly.

Jiraiya nodded and handed Naruto another balloon, along with a small paper bag full that he had picked up earlier. Naruto took a breath and once more attempted the Rasengan. Once again, it became too much and the balloon burst. This time, Naruto was holding his knees while catching his breath.

Jiraiya was about to give Naruto some words of encouragement but Elaine came rushing into the clearing with much excitement present on her face. Jiraiya and Naruto gave her their undivided attention.

"You're not going to believe this! Someone told me that Tsunade-sama was seen heading towards the castle not too long ago! Tsunade-sama is here in town!" gushed the blue haired girl happily.

Any signs Naruto showed of tiring vanished in an instant.

"Really?! Perfect, lets go!" cried Naruto excitedly.

"Yeah!" agreed Elaine.

Both of them quickly set off together, leaving a bemused Jiraiya.

"Who would've thought. Could it be coincidence or an act of fate?" grumbled Jiraiya while following after his cheery companions…

* * *

Getting to the castle didn't take very long, though each of them were wary of bloodthirsty bandits leaping out to get them considering what had happened. Nothing of the sort occurred of course however, the group were in for quite a shock upon arrival.

"What the!? What happened here!?" exclaimed Naruto as he gazed upon the rubble that once was a castle and the entrance to Rogue Market.

The entire structure had completely collapsed. Only the roof of the place had survived, the rest was just dust and debris. Getting in or out of Rogue Market had just became impossible at this point.

"Was there an attack?" asked Elaine thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure," responded Jiraiya.

Sudden screaming drew the trio's attention. Several people were running in fear from something or other near the castle gates.

"Giant snake!" screamed a few of them.

The trio looked at each other and nodded. It was too big of a coincidence. No, there was no such thing as coincidence in this world. It seemed farfetched, but all three immediately thought of one very evil snake freak. Something was happening that was worth checking into. Without a word, Naruto and company dashed towards the disturbance…

They arrived just two minutes later, but nobody was in sight. Naruto frowned while Elaine and Jiraiya carefully surveyed the area.

"Looks like we're too late. The chakra signature around this area has already moved on," observed Elaine with a mixture of relief and disappointment on her face.

"It's strange. Domino said that Orochimaru was hurt really badly after fighting the Third, right? So what would a giant snake be doing out here?" verbally pondered Naruto.

"There's no proof that it was Orochimaru and it doesn't really matter right now. Tsunade is no longer here," interrupted Jiraiya seriously. "Our main concern is to keep searching for her."

"Okay," replied Naruto and Elaine in complete agreement.

With that, they moved on to resume the search…

* * *

Nightfall had come and the team had nothing to show for it.

"Geez, we haven't seen her anywhere," grumbled Naruto, fed up with the lack of progress.

Jiraiya ignored him and pointed to a nearby restaurant.

"Lets get a bite to eat before we resume searching," suggested the Gama-sennin.

"Sounds great!" agreed Elaine with an approving smile.

"Just as long as you don't expect us to drink," added Naruto jokingly since the restaurant was actually a bar.

"_**There's an interesting thought. I wonder what you would do if you got drunk.**_"

An image of a tipsy Jiraiya came to Naruto's mind and he shivered.

"_I never intend to find out,_" replied the blond while meaning every word.

The trio proceeded into the place with Jiraiya in the lead. He came to an abrupt stop, much to the confusion of Naruto and Elaine. They peeked past him to find that he was staring at two women. Jiraiya pointed and gave a start.

"Tsunade!!" he cried.

One of the women stood up. She was a blonde hotty with amber eyes and a purple diamond in the center of her forehead. She wore blue pants with a gray Gi and black high heels. Her finger and toenails were painted red and she was wearing pink lipstick. Her hair ended in long pigtails and her rosy cheeks hinted that she had been drinking a lot. A shiny green necklace dangled between the most noticeable thing about her, her lovely D cups. This woman was Tsunade of the Legendary Three.

"Jiraiya!?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Jiraiya merely grinned and advanced to the booth she was sitting at. Naruto and Elaine followed after him with expressions of awe on their faces. They were finally meeting Tsunade in person!

"Boy am I glad to see you!" declared Jiraiya before plopping down across from her.

"Hello," greeted Elaine nervously.

The woman sitting next to Tsunade nodded in acknowledgement while keeping her eyes on Jiraiya. She was a plain and cute woman with a black dress like outfit. She wore a net shirt beneath it and black high heels. Her black hair was short and matched her eyes perfectly. A small pig with a red vest and beaded necklace was sitting in her lap. The woman was Shizune and the pig was Tonton.

Naruto sat down next to Jiraiya and Elaine sat next to Naruto. The two groups then started at each other while waiting for someone to say something. After a moment, they decided to just eat first before going into any lengthy conversations. It was ten minutes later before someone spoke up.

"Quite a day, running into two old acquaintances," murmured Tsunade with a sigh.

"Orochimaru, right? What happened?" asked Jiraiya with the other's exact thoughts.

"Not much," replied Tsunade while producing a deck of cards from her Gi and shuffling them. "Just a quick hello. So what did you want from me?"

Tsunade set the deck down and stared at Jiraiya expectantly. Jiraiya cut and shuffled the cards.

"I'll get straight to the point. The village has requested that you become the Godaime Hokage," relayed Jiraiya while setting the deck down so that Tsunade could deal them.

Everyone gave a start of surprise.

"You have heard about the Third, right?" continued Jiraiya while picking up his hand.

"Orochimaru killed him? He certainly enjoyed bragging about it," replied Tsunade while picking up her hand. "By the way, who are these kids?"

Jiraiya chuckled.

"The boy is Uzumaki Naruto. The young lady is Harime Elaine."

Tsunade gave a small start of recognition. Both names were famous among Konoha Shinobi. Naruto faced Jiraiya with a frown.

"This is pretty sudden, isn't it? Why was she chosen to become Hokage instead of anyone else?" asked Naruto.

"I'll explain that in a moment, Naruto. But first, I'll ask one more time…" Jiraiya discarded three cards and drew from the deck. "Will you accept the position of Hokage?"

Tsunade discarded her entire hand.

"I refuse," answered Tsunade bluntly, much to everyone's surprise save for a smiling Jiraiya.

"I've heard that before. You said the same thing when I asked you out," joked Jiraiya. "As the granddaughter of the Shodai and the excellent fighter you are, nobody else is better suited for the job."

Tsunade replenished her hand.

"Every Hokage has died at a young age by throwing away their life. Sarutobi-sensei is no different. Such a thing is only done by fools," reasoned Tsunade coolly.

Naruto's temper begun to shimmer at those words. Elaine noticed and grew instantly worried, though she was getting upset as well.

"You've changed, Tsunade. I had no idea that you've felt that way," commented Jiraiya while glancing at his former teammate with a considering gaze.

"I'm in my fifties after all. Time does that to you after awhile," Tsunade looked at her hand. "The title, Hokage is a piece of crap. Only an idiot becomes one."

"Damn you!" bellowed Naruto while hopping onto the table.

Jiraiya seized his jacket just before Naruto would've hit her.

"Let go of me!" snapped a very irritated fox sprit container while glaring at Tsunade.

"Please Naruto, this is a bar!" reminded Elaine in a plead for the blond to calm down.

Tsunade snickered when Naruto ceased struggling against Jiraiya's grip. Naruto looked Tsunade in the eye venomously.

"Anyone who insults the Third or the Fourth, even if it is a girl, will answer to me!" vowed Naruto heatedly.

Tsunade stood up to Naruto's height and glared into his eyes.

"You got some brass balls, talking to me like that! Step outside!" demanded Tsunade with an insolent smirk.

Naruto gritted his teeth and trembled in fury.

"Lets go, then!" agreed Naruto darkly.

Everyone sighed…

* * *

Luckily the streets were empty, Jiraiya and the others had a feeling that this was going to get chaotic. Tsunade was still just as confident as ever as she stared Naruto down.

"Just because I'm fifty doesn't mean that I'm not a Sannin, kid. I don't even need to get serious against a measly Genin like you."

"What was that!?" growled Naruto.

"I'll beat you using just one finger," declared Tsunade while holding up her right index finger and making a gesturing motion. "Come on, little boy."

Naruto's trembling was at an all time high.

"Don't mess with me!" cried Naruto while hurling a swarm of shuriken at her as he charged.

Tsunade easily dodged them without so much as a glance. Naruto had reached her by this point and attempted a kunai thrust. Tsunade ducked it and took Naruto's knife in a crafty disarming move before quickly knocking his forehead protector off with it. Naruto reeled from the force of the 'tap' while Tsunade threw Naruto's knife away. Tsunade then flicked his exposed forehead before he could recover in time.

"Naruto!" cried Elaine in alarm.

Naruto cried out in pain as he rolled back a few feet. He skidded to a halt and rubbed his aching head while wincing.

"Damn, she's strong. It hurts that much from a finger flick!" grumbled Naruto while glaring.

Tsunade smirked as Naruto's forehead protector landed before him.

"Kid, before you pass out I want to ask you something. Why do you care so much about the Hokage title?" questioned Tsunade coolly.

"For one, unlike you I'm going to accept the position of Hokage someday. I want to protect everyone under that name. Being Hokage is my dream!" declared Naruto with a determined smile.

Naruto's well versed declarations caught Tsunade by surprise and her expression became one of sadness. Naruto sensed the opening he had gained and vanished in a flash. Tsunade was most definitely shocked by the sudden speed and even more so as her legs were swept from under her. Naruto pressed his advantage with an axe kick to Tsunade's back, causing her to fly straight up into the air.

"Tsunade-sama!" cried Shizune in alarm.

Naruto high jumped after her just as Tsunade turned around in midair to engage him head on. Suddenly, the one finger rule seemed like a bad idea. Naruto lashed out with a kick that Tsunade halted using her left palm. Her right hand took hold of Naruto's ankle before he could recall his leg. Much to Naruto's discomfort, Tsunade raised him over her head and mightily hurled the hapless boy straight to the ground. The blond screamed the whole way down and only just managed to save himself using the aerial skip.

Naruto reappeared a few feet away on his hands and knees. His eyes were wide with fright at his near death experience as he panted. Tsunade landed and placed her hand on her hip. The playfulness was no longer present on her face now that she knew that Naruto wasn't to be taken lightly. Naruto stood up after a moment and pointed.

"Hey! You said you would only use one finger, granny!" he argued.

Tsunade shrugged and smiled in amusement.

"Whoops, I guess I must've forgot," said the blonde bombshell in mocked innocents.

A vein appeared in Naruto's temple and with great willpower he managed to calm himself down. Naruto then flashed his fox grin and cupped his hands.

"In that case, I'm going to beat you with a new trick I learned. Hope you don't mind being my guinea pig for a moment," declared Naruto as chakra slowly begun gathering in his hands.

Everybody, save for Jiraiya, was stunned as once more dust rings and incredible chakra force begun erupting from Naruto. Without the balloon to hide what was happening, everyone witnessed the sight of a condensed ball of really bright chakra gathering in his hands. The sphere was rotating at very high speeds in the form of a perfect Rasengan!

With a cry, Naruto charged in the form of a zigzagging orange blur! As quick as it came, the blur that was Naruto disappeared. Tsunade looked up to find Naruto directly above her with his right palm reared back.

"Here I go!" cried Naruto before thrusting.

However, Jiraiya's keen eyes noticed that the Spiraling Sphere's rotation speed had dropped a lot at the instant of Naruto's thrust. A sure sign that once more, Naruto couldn't handle the strain. To everyone's complete surprise, Tsunade also made use of high speed movement or rather the strength of her legs to pull a Domino! The startled Naruto ended up slamming his palm into the ground resulting in the same bulls eye mark as before. Directly above Naruto, Tsunade appeared with her leg raised for a dropkick!

"You're not the only one who can move quickly, brat! Tsukenkyaku!"

Poor Naruto went wide eyed with fright just moments before Tsunade slammed her heel into the ground in front of him. The earth shattered into broken rocks and a large fissure formed beneath Naruto. The blond cried out and only just managed to save himself by grabbing the edge of the small pit. The frightened blond dangled there by his arms with beads of nervous sweat sliding down his cheeks. Tsunade's strength was monstrous, even more so than Domino's! She certainly lived up to the title of a Legendary Sannin, no doubt about that.

Naruto groaned as he climbed out of the fissure with some help from Shizune and Elaine. The dazed boy begun to cough from the dust that had resulted from Tsunade's Painful Sky Leg attack.

"Naruto! Are you okay?" asked both girls worriedly.

Naruto managed a nod through his hacking. Tsunade used this moment to glance at Jiraiya.

"You taught him that move, right?" asked Tsunade coolly.

"Well I am his teacher," replied Jiraiya while rubbing his chin.

"Feh, you're wasting time trying to teach him a technique he can't master. Quit giving him ideas! It's no wonder he likes to daydream about becoming Hokage one day."

"Shut up!" snapped Naruto heatedly. "It isn't a dream! I will become Hokage and I'll prove it by mastering this technique in just three days!"

"Alright. Since you said it, you can't go back on your words," said Tsunade with a sudden smirk.

"I don't have to. I meant every word of it," revealed Naruto coolly before flashing his famous grin. "That's my nindo!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"Then lets make a bet. You have exactly one week. Master the Rasengan within that time and I'll not only acknowledge that you can become Hokage, but I'll also give you this," declared Tsunade while pointing to her necklace.

"Tsunade-sama! You can't!" exclaimed Shizune in alarm.

Naruto shot Shizune a intruded look.

"Why not, is there something special about it?" asked the blond.

"Yes, there is. That's a unique crystal that could easily buy three mountains. It once belonged to the Shodai Hokage," supplied Jiraiya.

Naruto was very impressed by this and smirked at Tsunade.

"Alright, I hope you're not too attached to it," taunted Naruto confidently.

"You're a pretty cocky kid. I like that, but if you fail…" Tsunade held up Naruto's wallet. "This belongs to me."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"Ah, Gama-chan! When did you…?"

"Tsunade-sama, please! Reconsider!" begged Shizune.

"Hmph, he won't be able to do it. Come on, we're leaving," ordered Tsunade before walking off.

Sadly Shizune faced Naruto.

"Naruto-kun…please don't think badly of Tsunade-sama. She wasn't always like this," vouched Shizune quietly on Tsunade's behalf.

"What happened to her?" asked Elaine.

"Please, excuse me," said Jiraiya in a manner suggesting that he already knew what was about to be said.

The Toad Hermit walked off in the direction Tsunade had went. The others watched him until he was no longer in sight before turning their attention back to the for coming tale.

"A long time ago, she lost both her younger brother and boyfriend during war. Her brother, Nawaki, was killed at home during a raid on the Konohagakure. He was too far beyond Tsunade's medical abilities to be revived. Soon after, Tsunade-sama tried to set up a medical training program. It was rejected by the council the moment she suggested it. She met my uncle soon after. Her boyfriend, Dan, was killed in action. He died in Tsunade-sama's arms."

Shizune lowered her gaze to the ground. Naruto and Elaine were stunned by this revelation. They now had a deeper understanding of why Tsunade seemed so cold. She was still grieving their loss.

"Both wanted to become Hokage and both were killed wearing her necklace. That necklace is very important to Tsunade-sama. She values it as much as her own life but if anyone else tried to wear it, it would kill them," declared Shizune, much to the worry of the others. "Now do you understand? It's too dangerous!"

Naruto closed his eyes in contemplation while picturing the dangerous pendants he and Elaine wore around their necks. It was highly doubtful that Tsunade's necklace could even begin to compare to the terror a single Kyokko Hoseki could bring. Naruto faced Elaine, who was thinking the same thing judging by her solemn expression.

"I'm going to start training now. If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a while," requested Naruto with a meaningful glance.

Elaine nodded her understanding.

"Please, be careful," requested Elaine, knowing full well how far Naruto would push himself to get stronger.

The intensity of his training was sure to be very great and Naruto didn't want to accidentally hurt Elaine during his build up session. Otherwise, the blond would've more than welcomed the company.

"I will," promised Naruto before facing Shizune. "I have something to prove now."

Shizune sadly glanced towards the ground before bowing her leave from the others. Naruto and Elaine shared a glance. Things had just gotten interesting…

* * *

Jiraiya found Tsunade drinking sake at a stand not unlike that of Ichiraku. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at his presence.

"What do you want?" she demanded frostily.

"So cold, don't be like that," jested Jiraiya with a smile before sitting next to her and placing and order for radish and sake. "You still treasure that necklace, eh? I was half expecting you to lose it in a bet."

Tsunade smiled a bit at Jiraiya's attempt at humor. The Gama-sennin grinned.

"Naruto must've really gotten to you since you're betting him for it. It was childish of you, we both know that he won't master that technique within a week," commented Jiraiya while watching Tsunade out the corner of his eye. "Given the timing, I'm guessing you plan to meet with Orochimaru again next week."

Tsunade stiffened.

"Relax, I'm not trying to talk you out of it. Just don't rush your answer."

Jiraiya took a sip of sake.

"You know that a Kage is well known for protecting his or her village. It's a natural commitment they all tend to make. With that kind of ideal in mind, I'm going to warn you now. If you dare try to betray Konoha…I will kill you."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"That has nothing to do with me. I don't care what happens to that place," stated Tsunade bitterly.

"Only a mass murder feels nothing when a precious person dies. You're not that kind of person. You showed the most concern for the villagers than any other person I knew. Even…"

"Stop lecturing me!" rebuked Tsunade heatedly while glaring into her sake cup. "Why did you bring that boy?" she asked after a moment.

Jiraiya smirked.

"He's a lot like your kid brother, isn't he?" replied the perverted hermit knowingly. "They even look alike and share the same ideals."

Tsunade didn't respond to that since she had withdrawn into her thought. Truthfully, she was thinking the same thing. Wordlessly, she pulled out her deck of cards and dealt them…

* * *

"HAAAAAAAA!!" roared Naruto while charging towards a tree a full speed with a Rasengan in hand.

Naruto had been pushing his chakra control and body to the limit for two days and had obtained limited success in mastering the Jutsu. For his training, Naruto had chosen an isolated clearing of dead trees outside of town so that nobody was accidentally harmed. Naruto's right hand was trembling and the boy was breathing really hard.

His target, a long dead cedar tree, was covered with dozens of spiral shaped bulls eye marks. Try as he might, Naruto could not maintain his full power at the instant of thrusting. For whatever reason, the rotation speed would always drop when he tried to thrust the sphere forward. Naruto found he had no problem doing the Jutsu with the aid of a shadow clone, but more than anything Naruto wanted to be able to use the Rasengan on his own. Especially since he was sure to be put into a situation were relying on a clone would take too long when he could've quickly used the Jutsu on the spot.

Taking a breath, Naruto seized his wrist and tried again. Not very far away, Tsunade and Shizune were observing Naruto with definite respect. For Naruto to have been able to handle the Rasengan at that level at his age was already more than impressive. A fond smile was playing on Tsunade's lips as she thought of her younger brother. Like Naruto, the kid never gave up either when he decided to do something…

A few hours later found Naruto sprawled exhaustedly on his back. The blond was drenched in sweat and greedily sucking in air.

"_**You don't have to kill yourself, kid. Lets go back to the hotel and get a bite to eat.**_"

Naruto's stomach rumbled in agreement. With an embarrassed flush, Naruto slowly sat up only to be graced with the sight of an angel. Elaine was approaching with a large picnic lunch in hand!

"Hey. Are you hungry?" greeted Elaine with a warm smile.

Tears of happiness filled Naruto's eyes and he put on the adorable puppy eyes look.

"Elaine-chan…arigato!"

Elaine flushed and had to fight hard not to squeal 'Kawaii!' Not only was the look cute, but Naruto had just called her Elaine-chan for the first time! Instead, Elaine giggled and set the basket down so that she could spread out a blanket.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Naruto grinned and helped to set up their late lunch. In little time at all, they were sitting side by side and both eating their fill of a type of spicy sub with coleslaw and an apricot pie for desert. All made by Elaine of course. The meal turned out, surprisingly, to be really good and Naruto made sure she knew with happy praises.

"Thank you. Genmaru has been teaching me how to make some things. I'm glad you're enjoying it," said Elaine, happily grateful for Naruto's praise.

Naruto grinned and pat his belly.

"Yeah! After eating your excellent cooking, I feel stronger than before! I'll master this move for sure now! Still…it's a lot harder than I first thought," admitted Naruto thoughtfully.

"Oh, well I'm positive you'll be able to do it! I just know you will!" encouraged the blue haired girl.

"Yeah. Thank you," said a warmly smiling Naruto before directing his gaze up towards the dusk sky where the first of many stars were beginning to shine. "This sure takes me back. You know, back when I was little, I used to watch the stars all the time with Iruka-sensei. One day, I saw one star that seemed to shine brighter than the rest."

Naruto chuckled and a grin spread over his face.

"I ended up picking that star as my very own. It was always the first one I saw everyday. There it is, right over there."

Naruto pointed to one very bright star that seemed to twinkle and dance with more life than any other. It was surrounded by several other stars that seemed to make it stand out all the more.

"That night, I made a wish and promised myself that I would find precious friends like Iruka-sensei."

"Your wish came true," observed Elaine fondly with absolute happiness for Naruto.

"Yep, so I won't give up. Not as long as I have someone to protect. Not as long as I have you rooting for me," vowed Naruto while locking his warm and friendly eyes with Elaine's.

Elaine returned the affectionate gaze in full. Each took pleasure in each other's company and spent the next few hours star gazing while laying down on their backs. It was a more than welcomed break for Naruto who truthfully didn't have much chakra left after all his Rasengan training. For the boy who would've kept going until he passed out in the clearing, only Elaine could've gotten him to relax enough to enjoy his old childhood hobby. The dragon kunoichi was definitely one of a kind.

At some point, Elaine released a content and sleepy sigh, rolled onto her side and drifted off. Naruto smiled at the sight and kindly covered her with his jacket. A small smile formed as she unconsciously snuggled into the jacket's warmth. Naruto fondly watched Elaine sleep with his head propped on his right arm.

"_I'm grateful to you, Elaine. You acknowledged me, encouraged me and taught me the value of protecting others. You became one of my first friends. I want to repay you somehow but I don't know where to start or how I can do it. So until I can, I'll protect you. I'll encourage you and support you no matter what. I'll keep my promise and become Hokage someday so that I can protect everyone else too. Domino, Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Sakura-chan, Genmaru…_"

Naruto suddenly gave a small start as he remembered something very important. Whenever he used a Jutsu, it had always been to protect others. It was in those instances that his techniques were at their best. The blond had been so caught up in proving his mettle to Tsunade and Jiraiya that he had nearly forgotten that. It was then that Naruto finally understood what he was doing wrong with the Rasengan.

Tomorrow, once his chakra had a chance to refill, he would test that theory. If Naruto's guess was right, the blond would be able to make the Spiraling Sphere even more powerful than Jiraiya's!

"Thank you. For everything," murmured Naruto to which Elaine smiled.

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun…"

* * *

Four days passed since then and Jiraiya found Tsunade hanging out at the same stand from before. With a smile he sat down next to her. Tsunade barely spared him a glance while she sipped her sake.

"Tomorrow is the end of the week you gave Naruto. I wonder how he's doing?" commented Jiraiya in a teasing tone while drinking some sake.

Had he kept his eye on her, he would've seen the grounded drug she dumped into the sake bottle. Without a word, Tsunade offered the spiked drink to her fellow Sannin. Jiraiya was just about to drink it when his stomach gave a growl.

"Oh, I'm feeling famished. One order of white radish please."

Tsunade frowned but mostly kept her cool. Jiraiya shot her a amicable smile and downed the drink in one gulp. Jiraiya then produced a pair of dice from his jacket.

"Want to shoot a few?" asked Jiraiya mere moments before yawning with sudden sleepiness.

A few seconds later, Jiraiya slumped over into a deep slumber. Tsunade then stood up and left the stand. There was just one last thing she needed to do…

* * *

"_Tomorrow…_"

Shizune was definitely in an pensive mood as she wandered aimlessly about the town. Tomorrow, Tsunade's bet with Naruto would conclude. Tomorrow, Naruto's life might be cursed to end in a violently gruesome way. More troubling than that, tomorrow would be the day Orochimaru approached her master once again. That cold monstrosity of a man with a tongue as sly as silk.

Just thinking about that snake loving psycho and his empty promises filled Shizune with dread. The somewhat mousy medical apprentice tried talking to Tsunade about it several times. Each time, the busty blonde would glare and storm away without a word to either gamble or drink her troubles away for a few hours. Reasoning with her was all but impossible.

More than anything, Shizune just wanted someone to lend her an ear. For her, talking and sharing her feelings on the matter with someone would probably help. For that reason she naturally, if a bit unconsciously, left the town en-route to Naruto's temporary training field. Surely the young man, who despise his cheery and somewhat naïve disposition, would listen and be able to understand.

Shizune had been carefully observing Naruto and noticed that behind that happy go lucky mask was a young man who understood more than he let on. It showed on his face whenever he trained. Simply put, the kid was a genius, one of unique stature. The way he moved, his unnaturally rare drive and dedication to improve himself, the sometimes briefly seen dullness of eyes that new pain and suffering. The kid clearly wasn't like anyone else.

These musings held steadfast to Shizune's attention and didn't release their hold until she arrived in the familiar barren landscape of deceased trees. What she saw made her mouth drop open in shock. Naruto was laying facedown and immobile in the dirt with a lengthy and massive chunk of the ground parted like the red sea. What more, that same bit of earth was super hot even from the distance Shizune was standing.

Forgetting about personal safety, Shizune dashed through the haze of raw heat and kneeled besides the unconscious blond. The boy was deadly pale and had major chakra burns covering his right hand. For the most part, the burns looked really bad. One mark seemed a bit particular. From what Shizune could make out pass all the burn marks, a black tattoo shaped like a dragon was visible…

* * *

Sometime later, Tsunade returned to the inn she was staying in. Shizune immediately dragged her into the room the moment she saw her.

"Tsunade-sama! It's Naruto-kun!" frantically cried the blonde's apprentice.

Naruto was resting in the girl's bedroom. He was drenched in sweat and looked slightly pale, haven regained some color. Tsunade quickly examined his sleeping from.

"He'll be alright. He just exhausted himself from overuse of chakra. He also has some pretty bad chakra burns on his right hand. He'll need at least two days of rest, give or take," reported Tsunade. "It's a shame. This happened all because of some one sided bet. I shouldn't had gotten so worked up."

Shizune had grown quiet.

"Tsunade-sama…please don't meet with that man tomorrow," requested Shizune.

Tsunade returned her gaze to Naruto's face. Shizune begun trembling in frustration.

"Say something! Tsunade-sama!"

The Sannin ignored her.

"Fine, if you try to go…" Shizune sank into a battle pose. "I'll stop you even at the cost of my life!"

Tsunade glared at Shizune.

"Do you know who you're talking to!?" snapped Tsunade before slugging her in the gut.

Shizune's eyes turned white and she slumped to the floor, completely out cold. Wordlessly, Tsunade stormed out of the room…

* * *

Elaine had been hard at work translating the fifth page of the journal she had found. It was only a bit, but the script contained within was finally starting to make sense. A sleepy yawn overcame the blue haired girl when a warm breeze fluttered into the window she was sitting next to. After carefully closing the book, Elaine stood up and stretched the stiffness away.

Movement caught her eye and it was then that she noticed Tsunade storming down the streets in a clearly bad mood. Whatever had ticked the busty blonde off had resulted in a foul tension in the air that even scared Elaine slightly. This was one woman that was not to be approached when angry.

Tsunade soon round a corner and headed towards the town's entrance where, unknown to Elaine, Tsunade would sit alone sometimes to drift into her memories. Elaine sighed in relief once she was gone before growing worried. It was just a feeling, but somehow Elaine knew that something bad was going to happen soon. She just hoped that the outcome would be a bright one.

Faintly, her green and new violet pendants begun glowing as if agreeing with her…

* * *

Naruto awoke with a groan as bright sunlight beamed on his face. Slowly he sat up and stretched the stiffness out of his body. Amazingly, Naruto felt just fine. Better yet, he felt a lot stronger too.

"_Using that technique over and over paid off big time. You also have my thanks for healing me, Foxy_."

"_**Think nothing of it, we have a bigger problem at the moment.**_"

Naruto frowned in confusion and looked around. He stiffened upon finding Shizune in a fetal position on the floor. Quickly, Naruto kicked off the covers and rushed to her side.

"Hey! Are you alright? Hey!" called Naruto while gently shaking her.

Shizune stirred and gazed blearily at Naruto.

"Naruto-kun…?"

She gave a sudden start and bolted upright, startling Naruto.

"What time is it?! What day is this!?" demanded Shizune.

"Um, I guess it's late morning and I believe today is Monday," replied Naruto worriedly. "Did something happen?"

Shizune was staring at Naruto in awe due to his remarkable recovery time. She was certain that Naruto would've slept for another day. Naruto grinned.

"I tend to recovery from most injuries after a night of rest," said a smiling Naruto to her unasked question.

He unwrapped his bandaged hand revealing that the chakra burns were completely gone. He flexed his hand a few times to test it. Shizune nodded in understanding as she considered the Kyuubi's powers.

"Say where's that old lady?" asked Naruto with a grin. "I want to show her something."

"Then you…?" begun Shizune.

Naruto's grin broadened and he placed his arms behind his head.

"You'll see," he hinted.

Shizune smiled before growing serious. With a wince, she seized her stomach and climbed to her feet.

"Stay here, Naruto-kun. I need to look into something," ordered Shizune while rushing to the window.

She was just about to climb out when a kunai sailed just inches pass her face. Her eyes widened in alarm and Naruto quickly rushed to her side. Both glanced in the direction of the attack to find Jiraiya breathing heavily. His face looked a little pale and he was weakly leaning against the wall. Elaine stood nearby, haven helped him get here shortly after the bar owner brought him back to the hotel.

"Wait, Shizune," pleaded Jiraiya while sinking to his knees.

Naruto quickly hopped out and helped Jiraiya into the room. The perverted hermit sighed in relief as he sat down on the bed. He then frowned.

"Damn that Tsunade. She drugged my drink when I wasn't looking. I can't mold chakra properly and my body is numb," grumbled Jiraiya darkly. "Her medical skills are still just as sharp as ever."

Shizune sweat dropped at the news that Jiraiya might've really been trying to hit her with that kunai. Naruto thought the same thing, but something else was bothering him as well.

"We have company," declared Naruto while looking in the direction of the suppressed chakra force he was sensing.

A purple blur immediately took off running from behind a nearby building. Naruto was about to give chase when Jiraiya halted him with his arm.

"Don't bother following him, Naruto. Shizune…please tell us everything you guys talked about with Orochimaru," ordered Jiraiya darkly.

Shizune lowered her gaze and begun speaking.

"I'll tell you everything as we move. Please follow me."

Tonton made a very 'Kirby' like sound for empathize.

With that, the group took off towards the direction of the ruined castle…

* * *

Tsunade and Orochimaru faced each other down. The snake tamer was wearing his normal battle outfit but his hands were wrapped in bandages. Both arms hung limply by his side.

"What is your answer?" asked Orochimaru quietly.

Tsunade didn't say anything for a moment as he stared at the ground in deep thought. Finally, she looked up.

"I'll cure your arms, but you must promise not to harm the village," Tsunade stated her terms seriously.

Orochimaru chuckled.

"Alright. You have my word," promised the snake tamer with a twisted smile.

Tsunade smiled at some faraway memory as tears trickled down her cheeks. The two Sannin then advanced towards each other. Orochimaru grinned evilly once they stood face to face. Slowly, Orochimaru raised and held out his trembling arms for Tsunade. Quietly Tsunade stared at them before making to take hold of his arms. A glowing ball of chakra appeared between her palms as she slowly held them over Orochimaru's arms. Her expression was mostly blank but her eyes shone with excitement and just a hint of bloodlust.

Just before they made contact, a kunai was hurled at them. Both Sannin quickly hopped back to avoid it and glanced in the direction of the projectile's owner to find Kabuto watching them. 'Four eyes' quickly hopped down behind Orochimaru with a kunai in hand. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"What is the meaning of this? You dare to betray me…Tsunade!?" growled Orochimaru.

Tsunade merely glared at him.

"Kabuto…your loyalty and insight has just saved my life. You will be rewarded handsomely in time, for now you have my complete trust," declared the child loving Orochimaru while keeping his eyes locked onto Tsunade's.

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama. As a fellow medical ninja, I sense the killing intent in her chakra," explained Kabuto while pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

"I was fully prepared to revive those two, Tsunade. I was even considering sparing Konoha in accordance to your wishes," revealed Orochimaru coldly.

Tsunade grew sad.

"Orochimaru…I knew that you were lying about not touching the village. I knew this, but I still wanted to see them again. Just one last time, I wanted to see them…touch them…watch them smile. For that I almost doomed my village. However…" Tsunade clenched her fists. "Dan and Nawaki would have call me a fool and never looked me in the eye. They would never have forgiven me for committing such a selfish act."

Tsunade begun to cry.

"I was blinded. I loved them so much, it hurts. So I can't do that to them, I won't destroy their dreams no matter how hard I try to forget. Leading a life solely to protect others, the ones they loved. That boy reminded me of that. I want to see his dream come true, the same dream they each shared now lives on within him," Tsunade paused to wipe away her tears. "All things with form will eventually perish. You said this to me time and time again, but this feeling won't."

A strong wind picked up causing everyone's hair to sway.

"All negotiations are pointless then. Very well, I have no choice," threatened Orochimaru quietly. "You will cure my arms, even if I have to use force!"

Tsunade's eyes snapped open in a determined glare. Wordlessly, she rushed the snake tamer and his little sidekick. She started things off with a dropkick so destructive, it made Domino seem mild. A massive crater was spawned as the force sent Kabuto and Orochimaru flying into the air. They landed unharmed on the roof of the castle wall. Tsunade glared at them.

"Bring it on, Orochimaru!" cried Tsunade angrily.

Orochimaru started laughing in excitement.

"Now that I think about it, I've never fought you before! That oaf was usually the one on the receiving end," reminisced Orochimaru with a smile.

Tsunade took off her jacket.

"You got that right!" snapped Tsunade while dashing towards them. "I'm sending you bastards straight to the void!"

Tsunade punched through the wall forcing Orochimaru and Kabuto to leap away before they were buried under rubble. They touched down in a nearby tree while Kabuto started sweating bullets. Tsunade was seriously scary.

"_I'll bet she's single. I have to win this quickly before Naruto and his friends get here,_" thought Kabuto worriedly. "Orochimaru-sama, I'll need to change the location of the fight or I'll lose for sure."

It made sense, since Kabuto was the one who was going to do the fighting in any case. Tsunade high jumped towards them and clobbered the tree they were standing in just as they leaped away to safety. Orochimaru almost had his head taken off by a truly vicious spin kick as they played cat and mouse. Tsunade was smashing up everything in her path as she chased those clowns like a grandma looking to get her purse back…

The chase eventually lead them to and open meadow. Kabuto and Orochimaru finally stopped running and turned to face the female version of the 'Thing.' All three of them were breathing heavily from running around so much. Kabuto frowned and reached into his pouch.

"I never was very good at Taijutsu," grumbled Kabuto while producing a soldier pill and eating it.

Tsunade stiffened. With a sigh, Kabuto formed seals causing his hands to become enveloped in an aura of blue chakra scalpels. Instantly, Kabuto disappeared in a cloud of dust to hide the fact that he went underground. Tsunade jumped just as he popped out of the ground beneath her and attempted to grab her leg. Kabuto missed and Tsunade quickly retaliated with a super punch to the ground. Kabuto only just managed to climb out in time to avoid it.

Kabuto leaped away with Tsunade right on his tail. The blonde bomb lashed out with a pulverizer kick that Kabuto dove out of the way to avoid. Kabuto took a 'Mario' position to protect himself from the flying debris. Tsunade lunged towards him for a follow up only to see Kabuto vanish in a flash of short ranged high speed movement. He appeared besides Tsunade as she got in range and slapped her arm and upper thigh with his palms.

Tsunade sent him flying with a head butt, rhinoceros style. Kabuto grinned victoriously as Tsunade dropped to a sitting position and seized her arm. Confidently, Kabuto stood up and shrugged off the glares Tsunade sent at him.

"I've damaged your bicep and rectus femoris. You won't be able to use that strength of yours anymore," declared Kabuto.

"A scalpel made of chakra, eh? Why didn't you go for my artery?" asked Tsunade.

"You give me too much credit. Even I can't hit those places, but vital organs aren't a problem!" cried Kabuto while rushing Tsunade.

Tsunade avoided and blocked Kabuto's palm thrusts and swept his legs from under him. Kabuto landed in a handstand and flipped back onto his feet. Quickly he palmed Tsunade right in her massive chest on her subcostal muscle. Tsunade gasped in pain and sank to the ground with a wince. Tsunade's breathing became labored while Kabuto smirked at her.

"Don't die now. We'll be needing you shortly," taunted Kabuto smugly. "I won't attack your vital organs since you can't move anymore."

He confidently pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Had he stayed focused, he might've avoided the sudden chop to the neck from Tsunade! Kabuto dropped like a stack of potatoes to the ground while Tsunade gave herself some room. The gray haired boy trembled as he struggled to climb to his feet, but something was wrong. Every time he tried to move one part of his body, something else would move!

With a stupefied expression on his face, Kabuto took a solid punch to the cheek from Tsunade. He cried out in pain as he sailed back a few meters. Honestly, the only reason he was still conscious right now was due to the fact that Tsunade couldn't use her full strength at the moment. Weakly he tried getting up only to comically flop about like a fish out of water. Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh at him. Kabuto's nerves were being disrupted! Kabuto glared at Tsunade.

"_Damn! She got me with a Ranshinsho attack. So long as it's active, the electrical impulses controlling my body functions won't work properly,_" thought the four eyed snake representative.

Tsunade shrugged it off and formed some seals. Her palm became engulfed in green chakra which she pressed it to her chest. Immediately color and energy returned to her face. Kabuto closed his eyes while she was healing herself and made subtle moves with his body. After a few minutes, Kabuto's eyes snapped open.

Much to Tsunade's surprise, Kabuto spun around and drew a kunai.

"Don't underestimate me!" bellowed Kabuto while rushing her.

Kabuto had learned how to move his body!

"You don't like blood do you!? Then let me show you plenty of it!" cried Kabuto while raising his knife overhead.

Out of nowhere, a smoke bomb went off. Kabuto hopped back to avoid the pepper. Orochimaru and Kabuto gritted their teeth at the sight of Naruto, Elaine, Shizune and Jiraiya. Tsunade was more surprised to see Jiraiya here than the others. Orochimaru smirked.

"It's been a long time, Jiraiya," greeted Orochimaru in amusement.

Jiraiya smiled.

"You have evil looking eyes, as usual. Are you still insane too?" taunted Jiraiya.

The two rivals chuckled.

Naruto and Elaine took notice of Kabuto for the first time. Naruto blinked in confusion.

"What are you doing here, Kabuto-san?" asked Naruto.

Kabuto smiled.

"Naruto-kun, its been awhile."

"You guys know each other?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, we all took the Chuunin exam together," supplied Elaine.

Abruptly Tsunade knocked the group aside.

"He's mine!" declared Tsunade while taking to the air.

Kabuto ducked Tsunade's opening kick but was left vulnerable to a second kick that disarmed him. Kabuto tried to run away from the crazed woman but she stayed on him. Kabuto was forced to block and avoid a devastating five hit chain that left his arms feeling numb. A punch to the cheek knocked him back into a rock. Kabuto winced and picked up his discarded knife, that was laying nearby. Quickly, Kabuto cut his palm just as Tsunade was rearing back for the finishing hit.

Tsunade paused in midswing and covered her mouth with her hands. Kabuto smirked as Tsunade started trembling.

"My body is starting to feel normal again. Still, fighting two Sannin will be too troublesome," he said while splashing some of his blood on her.

Tsunade winced and looked like she was going to start hyperventilating. Kabuto used his advantage to hit Tsunade with a chin breaker punch. The blonde sailed back with a cry and knocked Shizune over as she caught her. Elaine rushed to their side. Seeing that they were largely okay, Naruto turned towards Kabuto.

"What in the world are you doing?" asked Naruto.

"You're slow to notice things, Naruto-kun," voiced Kabuto while catching his breath.

Naruto then noticed Kabuto's forehead protector. It had the Sound emblem on it.

"Then, you're working for Orochimaru?" asked Naruto without wanting to believe it.

"That's right. I was a spy for Otogakure," revealed Kabuto while adjusting his shiny glasses again.

Naruto stiffened.

"Then why did you go through the trouble of helping me during the exam?" asked Naruto quietly as the reality of it all kicked in.

"Simple enough, I wanted information on you guys too. This is what I found out after observing you and your team. You have no talent as a ninja. Compared to Sasuke-kun, you're an amateur who can only run around and scream."

Naruto chuckled.

"That's it? You went through all of that just to compare me to Sasuke? I don't care about surpassing him anymore, I just want to protect my precious people," declared Naruto with his famous smile in place.

Kabuto smiled at that.

"Well well, you've grown up. Either way, you're still just a cute little Genin in the wrong place. Honestly, I'm more interested in the Sannin around me than a shrimp like you. Try to fight me, and I'll kill you," warned Kabuto with a sadist smile.

"Insults? Not too bad coming from that gay pedophile's favorite little boy."

This drew a snicker from Jiraiya and Elaine. Kabuto narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"You'll pay for insulting Orochimaru-sama," vowed Kabuto coolly.

"Is that so? Maybe I've been hanging around Domino too long, but is that the best you can do?" taunted Naruto confidently. "Move out of the way. My business is with Orochi 'I like little boys' maru."

Kabuto assumed a battle position.

"Then come and get him."

Naruto dashed towards Kabuto fast enough to kick up dust and debris. Kabuto lashed out with a punch only to hit an afterimage. Kabuto instinctively ducked, avoiding Naruto nerve targeting kick. Kabuto was hard pressed to avoid Naruto's attacks after that. The little blond seemed to be anywhere and everywhere at once as far as Kabuto could tell. Every few seconds, the lover of pasty pale child molesters would take a hard hit.

It was after narrowly avoiding a punch to the face that Kabuto got crafty. The Jounin level medic ninja quickly burrowed underground again in a poof of smoke. Startled, Naruto landed and warily looked about for where the medic would pop up. Abruptly, Shizune took to the air just in time to avoid having her ankle seized by Kabuto! The grayed haired teen completely emerged from the ground and went for Tsunade. The coward was trying to finish his original target off!

Kabuto barely took three steps before a water arrow whizzed by, narrowly missing him. Kabuto gritted his teeth in annoyance at Elaine. It was cut short when Naruto appeared in front of him for a spinning sweep aimed at his head. Kabuto managed to lean back in time to dodge it, making Naruto land in a crouched position with his back exposed. Smirking, Kabuto raised his chakra covered hand for a counter only for Shizune to dash directly towards him.

Kabuto show no concern since she was too far away to do anything in time. That is, until Shizune suddenly spat a pair of fast moving needles at Kabuto. With a grunt, Kabuto used his forehead protector to deflect them. Still, this left him open for a direct head butt from Naruto from below. Kabuto sailed straight into the air with a trickle of blood flying from his mouth. Naruto then formed a seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In clouds of smoke, eight clones joined the original and leaped after Kabuto. Two of them kicked him in the chin making him rise higher into the air.

"U!"

Two more nailed Kabuto with uppercuts to the same spot.

"Zu!"

A third pair got the same spot again with their knees.

"Ma!"

The last pair finished up with palm strikes to the same general area.

"Ki!"

For the grand finisher, all of the Narutos used their speeds to appeared a different points all around Kabuto. They all lashed out with kicks at the same time. Three sets of feet slammed Kabuto on top of his head, one got his back, another hit his guts, one each nailed either of his arms and the last one nailed his bruising chin again!

"Naruto Rendan, All Around!" cried all of the clones.

They each removed their legs and raised their arms at the same time. Eight elbows brutally hit home directly on Kabuto's head, making him drop like a rock. The real Naruto was waiting down below with the tiger seal formed and a wicked grin on his face!

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

Kabuto's pained scream echoed quite loudly as he got bombarded with forty fireballs at point blank range! The elder ninja sailed back several dozen feet and hit the ground with a thud. The smell of burnt hair and clothes entered the air and all of the clones begun cheering before vanishing in with a poof.

"How'd ya like that!?" taunted Naruto while taking another ready position.

Kabuto groaned as he weakly struggled to his feet. That little pipsqueak had caused quite a bit of damage. Slowly, Kabuto reached into his pouch and produced a second pill. This one was slightly reddish in color. Naruto instantly recognized it due to his training with Blossom.

"_That's a blood replenishing pill,_" observed Naruto with the other's same thought.

Kabuto quickly ate it and glared at Naruto. How in the world the kid got so powerful was beyond him. He knew Naruto had improved after watching his match with Neji, but he didn't expect it to be this much. Wordlessly, he hopped backwards to join Orochimaru's side. The snake tamer smirked.

"Shall we?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yes. Please removed the bandages on your left arm," requested Kabuto with an almost sensual smirk that the snake freak returned, further proving that Orochimaru was gay and that Kabuto enjoyed the attention.

Orochimaru did so while staring directly at Naruto. This boy was certainly interesting in his eyes. Orochimaru was already considering making Naruto his next container after he was done with Sasuke. Jiraiya turned towards Shizune.

"Look after Tsunade for me," requested the Toad Sage before facing Elaine. "If you can, try to help out Naruto."

"Yes sir!" replied both girls confidently.

Jiraiya smirked at Orochimaru.

"I'll deal with Orochimaru myself," declared Jiraiya confidently.

With the plans finalized, everyone faced their respective opponents for one hell of a battle…

* * *

"Before we get to the action. Shizune, I'll need Tsunade to do something about my body," requested Jiraiya.

"I'm sorry, the effect of that drug will last for awhile. It's beyond my ability to treat and Tsunade…" begun Shizune.

"What!?" exclaimed Jiraiya comically.

Shizune sweat dropped.

"Sorry."

"Geez, well it's alright. I'll fight like this then. See to it that Tsunade gets some rest," requested Jiraiya a second time. "Now…let us begin!"

Jiraiya bit his thumb while Kabuto smeared his fingers with blood from his cut and applied it to the tattoo on Orochimaru's arm. Both parties then begun forming seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" they cried as one.

Smoke clouds hid the summoners from view. When they cleared, Kabuto and Orochimaru were each standing on top of a giant snake. Jiraiya's summon resulted in the spawning of a tiny orange frog with a blue vest. The tiny squirt was Gamakichi the son of Gamabunta. Everyone sweat dropped while Jiraiya's eyebrows twitched.

"What's up?" asked the tiny frog cheerfully.

Jiraiya begun to panic while Orochimaru chuckled at his old rival's stupidity.

"Looks like you're still the idiot I remember," taunted the snake tamer in a very Sasuke-ish fashion. "I know you don't have much talent but that's just pitiful. Tsunade's handy work, no doubt."

"I'm guessing Tsunade-sama was planning on using him as a sacrifice," observed an amused Kabuto.

Orochimaru laughed at that, much to Naruto's annoyance.

"_This bastard sounds like Sasuke! It burns me up when he makes fun of Ero-sennin!_" thought Naruto.

"_**You can say that again.**_" agreed the Kyuubi.

"Lets go!" cried Orochimaru.

The twin beasts lunged towards the group for dinner. Everyone took to the air with Shizune carrying Tsunade. Kabuto jumped off of his snake to try and slug Shizune. He was intercepted by Naruto, who easily caught his fists. Naruto then flipped over Kabuto's shoulders and fueled his elbow with chakra to pull a Master Xiaoyu right into his back. Kabuto dropped and landed with a boom on his hands and knees.

With a growl of annoyance, Kabuto's hands were enveloped in chakra again. Shizune suddenly fired off several needles from a shooter device on her arm. Kabuto dodged them easily enough but took a juggernaut kick to his side when Naruto took advantage of the opening. Kabuto hit the ground and rolled a few times until he was back on his feet.

"Suiton, Bakusuiryuu!" came Elaine's voice from above him.

Kabuto looked up in time to get swept away from a torrent of water from Elaine's attack. Fighting three opponents at once was suddenly becoming impossible…

Jiraiya stared Orochimaru down as his familiar rushed to eat him. Jiraiya quickly formed seals and clapped his hands.

"Doton, Yomi Numa!" cried Jiraiya.

Both of the serpents were suddenly snared in a massive swamp of some sort of quicksand. Orochimaru glared at Jiraiya as he touched down on top of the unoccupied snake's head.

"Crap! I can't completely submerge them with such a small swamp," grumbled Jiraiya with a frown. "But at least the snakes can't move anymore."

Orochimaru quickly rushed Jiraiya and made his neck extend to incredible lengths. Jiraiya formed some seals causing his hair to become very similar to that of a porcupine.

"Ninpou, Hari Jizou!" cried Jiraiya.

Orochimaru's foot was impaled by Jiraiya's sharp hair, but he was able to score a bite to the perverted hermit's neck.

"Damn it! That technique isn't working either!" groaned Jiraiya.

"Handicap or no, I always was better than you," taunted Orochimaru with a chuckle before hopping back to gloat.

Both begun breathing heavily.

"Look at you now. The insanity of the village babysitting a child with no extraordinary talent," taunted Orochimaru.

"At least I don't need an Uchiha to make a excellent Shinobi!" shot back Jiraiya with a smirk. "What's the fun of raising a genius that learns too fast?"

"You know as well as I do that the Uchiha bloodline cannot be beaten by anything other than that same ability. That boy will never obtain it and so he will never obtain the secrets of world wide Ninjutsu," stated Orochimaru.

"Ahou, the number of techniques one can use has nothing to do with talent. A true ninja is one that never gives up!" declared Jiraiya…

Kabuto was in a dance of death as he dodged joint attacks from both Elaine and Naruto. Shizune dove between the tag team fighters and took a deep breath.

"Ninpou, Dokugiri!" cried Shizune before exhaling a thick cloud of poison gas.

"Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" came Naruto with forty clones.

The Naruto army added to the attack with a swarm of shuriken from every side only to miss as Kabuto suddenly burrowed underground. Shizune was made the victim of his counterattack when he took hold of her legs. With a wince, Shizune dropped to her hands and knees due to cut leg tendons. Kabuto smirked as he stood over her with his hands raised for a finishing move.

"Surrender now and I won't kill this woman!" blackmailed Kabuto with smug superiority written on his face.

Naruto and Elaine stiffened. Kabuto had gained the upper hand! He seized Shizune in a chokehold and forced her to move with him towards Tsunade. Shizune suddenly flung her weight into Kabuto, disorienting him long enough for Elaine to hit his hand with a Senbon. Kabuto winced and was forced to let Shizune go when Naruto speedily scored a palm strike to his face.

"Enough! Let's stop pushing each other around, Kabuto!" shouted Naruto heatedly. "Or else…"

Naruto held up his right palm and removed his chakra sealing band. Naruto's arm begun to glow with chakra as the tattoo of the wind dragon appeared on his wrist again! Slowly wind swirled around his hand before giving way to a high speed sphere of swirling chakra. Naruto was using the Rasengan with ease!

"I'm going to finish you," concluded the blond.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Kabuto took a few steps back while his teeth bared. Was there anything that the kid couldn't learn how to do? That thought gave way to fear causing Kabuto to make one last desperate move. Quickly he lunged towards Tsunade for a fatal palm thrust to her vital organs. As expected, Naruto intercepted the attack with his technique already in motion. Kabuto smirked and scored a hit to Naruto's heart just as Naruto drove his Rasengan into Kabuto's guts without losing rotation speed! Kabuto screamed in true pain from the attack. Both of them coughed up mouthfuls of blood as they glared into each other's eyes.

"Stupid kid, chasing your foolish dream killed you! Heh, you'll never become Hokage now," gasped Kabuto.

"Shut up. I'll become Hokage, no matter what. Because I have…" gasped Naruto.

Tsunade begun to tremble as she watched this.

"Why? Why won't you…?" begun Tsunade before she felt Elaine place a hand on her shoulder.

"Naruto can't give up because he has…" begun Elaine.

"Someone to protect," they said as one.

Naruto begun to scream as he further pushed the Rasengan into Kabuto's body. This was when Naruto's tattoo went active! It was at that moment that Kabuto could've swore that he saw the head of an enraged wind dragon appear directly in the center of Naruto's sphere! Naruto's chakra erupted outward into a massive area wide blast of wind element filled energy. Kabuto screamed in agony as he was sent flying backwards several meters! Kabuto smashed into a nearby boulder with a boom and sailed straight through it to the other side. Everyone was stunned by this sudden development as Kabuto continued to fly back before smashing hard into an even larger boulder. This time, four eyes stopped in a impression of his body with the noticeable sound of bones breaking.

"Try that on for size. Shuno no Rasengan," gasped Naruto tiredly from the strain.

Suddenly, Naruto clutched his chest where Kabuto had struck and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Weakly, Naruto dropped to the ground completely out cold.

"Naruto!" cried Elaine, Shizune and Jiraiya in dismay.

Tsunade quickly rushed to Naruto's side, her fear of blood momentarily forgotten. Kabuto emerged from the dust at that moment and snickered despise the ugly wound and burns that was visible on his torso. The gray haired medic's shirt had been burned to rags and his right arm dangled limply by his side from being broken. The heat of Naruto's Top-level Rasengan was quiet tremendous, causing the blood on Kabuto's body to dry nearly as soon as it leaked out of his wounds. Lastly, Kabuto's skin was very irritated from the heat as well, making it reddish and peeling in places.

"How is this possible!?" gasped Elaine. "He took a direct hit!"

Kabuto straightened his glasses and stood up to his full height.

"There's a reason why Orochimaru-sama likes me. My body is capable of regenerating from any kind of attack. I was never in any danger to begin with," declared Kabuto with a scornful laugh as his injuries vanished from sight.

His laugher gave way to a violent hacking of blood. Kabuto winced and dropped to his knees while holding his stomach. The damage Naruto had caused had been too great to completely heal right away with his current chakra total. Naruto had beat him after all!

With Kabuto no longer present as a threat, Tsunade immediately set about trying to heal the injury Kabuto had inflicted upon Naruto. Naruto's breathing was slowing down and his heartbeat was becoming irregular. Elaine was trembling with fear and worry that couldn't be relieved even by Shizune's comforting hand on her shoulder. Naruto was dying and there was little any of them could do about it. Tsunade was his only hope at this point.

Three minutes had passed and Naruto's breathing had stopped all together. Tear drops begun falling from Tsunade's eyes.

"No…no, you can't! Damn it!" cried Tsunade desperately as she poured more of her power into the healing.

Elaine covered her face with her hands and leaned onto Shizune's shoulder. Both girls begun silently crying.

"Naruto!" mourned Elaine through her sobs.

Jiraiya looked away and trembled in fury. Still, Tsunade wouldn't stop healing Naruto. Not until she was sure that there was nothing more she could do. Tsunade closed her eyes tearfully.

"Hey…" came Naruto's exhausted voice.

Everyone faced him with expressions of shock and relief. Naruto managed a weak grin.

"I win…the bet…" murmured Naruto before entering a peaceful slumber.

Naruto was going to be okay! Tsunade smiled and gently lifted Naruto up into a hug.

"Just once more. I'll believe in you," whispered Tsunade before setting him back down.

This time, Tsunade's necklace joined Naruto's pendant. Both gleamed brightly in the sunlight…

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as he glared at Naruto. It was undeniable now, Naruto was becoming a major threat. Without a word, Orochimaru lunged towards the boy in an effort to kill him while he was vulnerable. Jiraiya quickly leaped after him. Orochimaru had been expecting this of course and spun around in midair to fire his freaky tongue at Jiraiya. It wrapped around his ankle and Orochimaru used it to smash Jiraiya into a crater in the ground. The perverted hermit was instantly knocked out.

With no further distractions, Orochimaru summoned the Sword of Kusanagi in his mouth and dove towards Naruto to impale him. Quickly Tsunade shielded Naruto with her body causing her to get run through instead. Tsunade trembled in pain while Orochimaru glowered at her for interfering. Orochimaru hopped back and swallowed his sword again.

"I don't want to have to kill you, Tsunade. Please, don't interfere," requested Orochimaru coldly.

"You won't…lay a finger on him!" snapped Tsunade with a wince.

Elaine and Shizune protectively stood on either side of Naruto. All three of them glared at Orochimaru. The snake tamer smirked.

"Protecting a mere Genin? How low you have gone, Tsunade?" taunted Orochimaru.

Tsunade rose to her full height and glared at Orochimaru.

"Take care of Naruto. I'll have your heads if anything happens to the future Hokage," murmured Tsunade to her comrades without turning around.

"We will," promised Elaine while gazing fondly at Naruto's face.

Orochimaru sneered.

"Fine, if your life means so little to you…"

Orochimaru summoned his sword again.

"Then hurry up and die!" he cried before cutting Tsunade with it.

Tsunade screamed in pain and stumbled backwards into a fall to her back. Orochimaru grinned evilly and advanced to finish the job, only to take a sudden kick to the face from Tsunade! Orochimaru hit the ground with a groan while Tsunade rose to her full height.

"Consider that a declaration of victory, in the name of the Godaime Hokage!" announced Tsunade before the diamond on her forehead begun morphing and spreading about her face.

Orochimaru warily climbed to his feet. Something told him that he was in for a major trashing now. Tsunade formed a seal, causing her body to glow slightly.

"Infuin Kai!"

"Tsunade-sama! Don't do that, I'll heal your wounds for you!" cried Shizune in alarm.

Tsunade ignored her, as usual.

"Ninpou, Souzou Saisei!"

Instantly, all of her wounds begun regenerating! Orochimaru looked stunned for a moment, then he begun chuckling.

"Looks like I'm not the only one creating new techniques. What kind of Jutsu is that?" asked Orochimaru.

"I've been collecting chakra for a while and sealing it in my forehead. Once released, I simulate enough proteins to increase my cell division rate multiple times. The results is constant regeneration the instant I'm harmed," replied Tsunade before wiping some blood from her mouth with her thumb.

In short, Tsunade was invincible in battle and Orochimaru was screwed. The snake tamer narrowed his eyes and made a mad dash to Kabuto.

"Quick, call him out!" demanded Orochimaru to his half conscious partner.

Jiraiya had woke up by this point and quickly understood what was happening. He immediately bit his thumb. As one they all formed seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

When the smoke cleared, Jiraiya was standing on top of Gamabunta's head. Tsunade was standing on top of a giant blue and white slug named Katsui. Orochimaru was standing on top of a large purple snake with Kabuto kneeling behind him. The snake was a wicked creature named Manda.

"Interesting seeing you three together again. Are you all holding a reunion or something?" joked Gamabunta while taking a drag on his pipe.

"Don't be stupid. Today's the day we defeat Orochimaru," replied Jiraiya with a confident smirk.

Manda was in a foul mood at the moment.

"Hey, Orochimaru, don't bring me into troublesome situations," warned Manda.

Orochimaru ignored him.

"Bastard! I'll eat you!" threatened Manda.

Kabuto quickly spoke up on Orochimaru's behalf.

"Please calm down, Manda-sama. I'll give you an offering to make up for this," promised Kabuto tiredly.

"Who the hell asked you! Don't talk to me so casually, you damn brat!" snapped Manda darkly.

Kabuto lowered his gaze to the top of Manda's head in a subdued manner. Kabuto didn't get scolded very much but when he did it really hurt his feelings. Satisfied, Manda shifted his gaze to Orochimaru.

"Have one-hundred sacrifices ready for me after this is over."

Gamabunta chuckled at this, drawing a glare from Manda. Without warning, the Toad King exhaled smoke from his pipe into the mega snake's face.

"Bastard! You want to get eaten, huh!?" growled Manda darkly.

"Nah, but I could use a new snake skin wallet," replied Gamabunta while drawing one of his knifes.

With that, the summoners and their familiars faced each other down for one last battle. The tension was at an all time high and everyone was eager to see oro-bastard's ass get kicked. Katsui immediately started the fight off.

"Zesshinen San!" cried the giant slug before spiting a large amount of acid at Manda.

The snake king dodged it with amazing speed, considering his size. Quickly it wrapped Katsui up in a crushing grip and started to squeeze. Manda was just about to bite into its' captured prey when Gamabunta hopped forward for a knife thrust. Manda dodged it with a quick swivel of his head and claimed his jaws down on Gamabunta's knife before he could get away. Laughing, Manda decided to just crush Katsui instead.

The giant slug was swelling up like a balloon. She suddenly exploded and turned into hundreds of smaller copies of herself. The slugs crawled away and quickly begun reforming back into one again. Manda growled in irritation and used his free tail to try and wack Gamabunta. The Toad King quickly performed a back flip to safety. Manda rushed after him and hurled Gamabunta's knife, still held firmly in his jaws, at him. Gamabunta easily avoided it and the weapon landed blade down directly in front of Katsui.

"Let's kick this up a notch!" voiced Jiraiya while forming seals.

Gamabunta quickly fired a jet of toad oil at Manda, drenching the wicked snake.

"Katon, Gamayu Endan!"

Manda was set ablaze for a rather hot barbeque. When the flames cleared, everyone found nothing but Manda's cooking skin remaining. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as the ground started shaking. Gamabunta leaned back just enough to avoid having his head impaled by Manda's tail. However, he was left open to Manda as he moved in from behind for the bite. It never came since Tsunade used Gamabunta's knife to pierce and pin Manda's head to the ground. The Snake King was besides himself with fury.

Orochimaru glared at Tsunade and fired his freaky tongue at Tsunade like a bullet. Tsunade found her neck caught in a strangle hold by Orochimaru's slimy tongue. She couldn't help but shutter slightly. Who knew where that guy's mouth had been. Orochimaru laughed.

"I'll snap your neck!" threatened Orochimaru evilly.

Tsunade struggled desperately against the freak's tongue. Unable to get a good grip on it, Tsunade instead used her arm to loosen its' tightness. Orochimaru gasped in alarm as Tsunade freed herself and took hold of his tongue. With a cry, Tsunade yanked on it causing Orochimaru to sail helplessly towards her. Once in range, Tsunade pile drove her fist into his face. Orochimaru moaned in pain as he sailed back the way he came. Tsunade yanked him back towards her again and hurled him into the air. She followed with a high jump and pummeled Orochimaru's face with six devastating punches followed by a solid uppercut to his chin. Orochimaru had no time to fly off since Tsunade kicked him directly in the head. Orochimaru dropped like a stone only to have his tongue seized by Tsunade again. She proceeded to play a fun game of Orochimaru paddleball!

After three yank and punches, Tsunade shoved Orochimaru into the air and followed after him. Tsunade score hook after hook into the hapless freak's face. Everyone save for Kabuto started cheering her on. At some point, Tsunade hit him hard enough for his eyes to turn white. Orochimaru recovered and started running away from Tsunade like a scared schoolgirl. Tsunade chased him around landing hits every few seconds since Orochimaru was too dizzy to run properly.

"Quit running, you pansy!" cried Tsunade evilly.

Tsunade vaulted over his shoulders and blew his cheek to the point where it literally caved in. she followed with a solid back knuckle and a spinning lateral kick to his teeth. Orochimaru stumbled backwards with a deeper understanding of the term, 'seeing stars.' Tsunade slugged his face twice more before knocking him into the air with a roundhouse kick. Before Tsunade could further chain attacks together, Orochimaru snared her body with his tongue.

Orochimaru quickly lunged towards her with the sword of Kusangi in his mouth. Tsunade wasn't going to make it that easy though. Using her heels, Tsunade halted Orochimaru's sword long before impact. Orochimaru couldn't believe his eyes, he was getting his ass kick! Tsunade lashed out with a stomp to his face, forcing him to let go of her. Tsunade immediately rushed him and scored a haymaker to his face. Spit and blood flew from Orochimaru's mouth as he groaned in pain. This became more frequent with each blow he took.

Tsunade sent him into the air with a chin breaker punch and quickly sent him bouncing on the ground like a ball with a dolphin blow. By this point, Tsunade was starting to get pretty tired. Still she was having the time of her life wailing on this guy. With every blow landed, more and more of her frustration was being relieved and it felt pretty damn good!

Tsunade formed some seals as she walked towards him. Her right hand was enveloped in chakra for the finishing touch. Orochimaru was in too much pain to move and was sent flying from one last chin breaker from Tsunade. Orochimaru smashed into Gamabunta's sword and fell to the ground like a battered raggedy Anne doll. Orochimaru went still the moment he hit the ground. Tsunade had knocked him the fuck out!

"Orochimaru-sama!" wailed the snake tamer's love slave.

Kabuto quickly felt for a pulse on his beaten master. Manda narrowed his eyes at the sight.

"Damn pussy! Losing in such an unsightly manner. I should eat both of you if it weren't for this hole in my mouth!" growled Manda despise having his snout pinned by Gamabunta's sword. "Next time we meet, you better be prepared!"

Manda vanished in a large poof of smoke, leaving Kabuto alone to tend for his master. Kabuto patted Orochimaru's face until he woke up with a start. Tsunade exhaustedly dropped to her hands and knees, there was no way she would have the strength to beat him up a second time. Orochimaru rose with a groan and glared at Tsunade while breathing heavily.

"Tsunade, even if you refuse to heal me, I have one other method that will work," gasped Orochimaru while looking up with a sizable chuck of his face missing.

Once more, the woman who's body Orochimaru had stolen was present.

"I will destroy Konoha. Mark my words!" vowed Orochimaru with a tone oozing with hatred. "Don't die on me before that time comes."

Everyone stiffened. This man was a monster! Without a word, Orochimaru merged with the earth while Kabuto vanished in a poof of smoke. The battle had been won! Slowly, the diamond reappeared on Tsunade's forehead and she returned to her true old lady form. Gamabunta and Katsui then vanished in clouds of smoke.

Wordlessly, everyone gathered around the sleeping Naruto. This was the second time the blond had died and come back. Fate had something pretty surprising in store for the world, in the form of Uzumaki Naruto. The future Hokage…

* * *

It was a few days later when Naruto had reawakened. Everyone was ecstatic to see him back on his feet again. To celebrate, the group found themselves at the same bar where they had first found Tsunade. There Naruto was informed that Tsunade had accepted the position of Hokage. Naruto was happy for her of course, but he still couldn't help but frown.

"Is that really alright? I mean, compared to old man Hokage she's violent, short tempered, drinks a lot, irresponsible with money, and a bit selfish," ticked off Naruto one by one.

Tsunade felt a vein throb in her temple.

"Step outside, kid!" demanded Tsunade heatedly.

"Now now, Naruto has just recovered. He's in no condition to be fighting right away," reminded Shizune with a sweat drop.

Tsunade's glare silenced her with a mousy squeak. Everyone sighed as Tsunade dragged Naruto outside for round two…

* * *

Even though she knew not to underestimate Naruto anymore, Tsunade couldn't help but push a few buttons.

"Since I'm the Fifth now, I don't need to get serious against a little kid," taunted Tsunade with a smirk. "One finger."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"So you say, but I'm the future Hokage. Don't underestimate me!" said Naruto before vanishing in a flash.

Tsunade instinctively ducked Naruto's chop from behind and grabbed his shirt. Quickly Tsunade slapped his forehead protector away and, much to Naruto's surprise, pulled him close enough to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead. Tsunade grinned in amusement and blushed.

"You better become a fine man," instructed Tsunade with motherly affection.

Naruto grinned and placed his hands behind his head.

"You can count on me!" reassured Naruto happily.

Everyone smiled at the sight of two admirable future Hokages. Both the shining stars of Konoha's future…

* * *

Hey hey hoo! It's Aninene, your friendly neighborhood Fox Demon!! Another fun chapter filled with plenty of Orochimaru bashing! XD

Once more, Naruto has gone beyond his limits and invented a new technique along with a wickedly cool Taijutsu combo. There's not much to say this time. (Other than Tsunade is hot, lol) The highlight of this chapter is Naruto tapping into the amplifying abilities of his tattoo to spice up the traditional Rasengan.

Well then, let's get cracking on the reviews!

Ant Crown: Aw, you're welcome. Thank you for reading it. :D Yuuko is…different. Even after reading the manga, watching the anime and movies I still can't figure her out! XD She's definitely a kind and good person though. :3

zerodragon: lol, looks like I got the humor part down. XD Ah, you've noticed that! Yeah, their close bond and complimentary battle styles allowed them to flow in perfect synchronization from situation to situation. This is mainly foreshadowing for a major event that's going to occur in two to three more chapters. :D

Saru14: Not that I know of. It's most likely the summon that Gai uses but there's no way I can prove that. XD Not to worries other than the major events, their won't be anymore cannon from this point onward if you're reading this response. I can now say, without a doubt, the rest of the tale will be all original! (Everyone cheers) XD

Maerstab: Yayz, I'm glad you like it! Stay tuned for more exciting adventures, yeah:D

Necroblade: (Dances for joy) Those words, have inspired and motivated me to want to try even harder than ever:D Inspiration and the writer's Flames of Youth (joking) were really spurring me on for that chapter. There will definitely be many more like it before this fic is done. :D

Okay! With the find Tsunade arc now over, it's time for the start of the Chuunin Ascension arc! That's right folks! The Chuunin exams are back, and this time we'll get to see the results!! Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!

Rank it like it's hot! XD

Naruto - C Rank after mastering the Rasengan!

Naruto - B Minus Rank using Top Level Rasengan

Elaine - C Rank

Shizune - B Rank

Tsunade - A Plus Rank

Tsunade - S Rank using Genesis of Rebirth

Jiraiya - A Plus Rank

Jiraiya - A Minus Rank due to Tsunade's drug

Orochimaru - A Minus Rank due to arms

Kabuto - B Plus Rank

Kabuto - A Minus Rank after eating food pill

Yosh! Until next chapter! Ta ta now!


	20. An Elder Dragon's Protege!

**Final Preparation and the Chuunin Exam!**

**An Elder Dragon's Protégé!**

The sun shone with extra brightness as Naruto and company set foot into Konoha. Everyone had been quite pleased with what they saw. Nearly every single house had been fully repaired. It was almost as if the attack of the Giant Snake had never happened. Of course, they didn't get to admire the villager's work for long. As a group, they had made straight for the Hokage's place.

Once there, the advisors set about ordering the staff to redecorate Tsunade's office to her likings. Jiraiya left them at that moment to go pick up payment for completing the mission. Tsunade and Shizune were immediately called to meet with Houmura and Kohara and had no sooner started to separate from Naruto and Elaine when a very angry Konohamaru rushed in. The boy hadn't been watching where he was going. As a result, he found his face sandwiched between Tsunade's massive bust. Everyone sweat dropped as Konohamaru mumbled something about feeling very soft and smelling nice.

Realizing what he was doing, Konohamaru flushed and hopped away from Tsunade. Tsunade glared at the kid the whole time.

"What do you think you're doing!?" cried a flushing Konohamaru while rudely pointing at Tsunade.

"You're one to talk, you perverted brat!" snapped Tsunade.

"I am not!" wailed Konohamaru as his flush deepened.

"Please, Tsunade-sama. We don't want to keep the elders waiting," reminded Shizune with a sweat drop.

"Yeah, you're right. I can't waste time playing with perverted children," agreed Tsunade.

Tsunade shot Konohamaru one last glare before following after Shizune. Konohamaru was trembling in anger at being called a pervert. The whole thing had been an accident after all. He then took note of Naruto and Elaine for the first time.

"Nii-san and Nee-chan! Long time no see!" greeted Konohamaru with a grin.

"Yeah!" agreed Naruto.

"How have you been?" asked Elaine.

"Fine, until I ran into that old hag!" said Konohamaru while glaring in the direction Tsunade had went. "Who is she, anyway?"

"That was Tsunade, of the Densetsu no Sannin," replied Elaine.

"But despise how she looks, she's really a fifty year old granny," added Naruto quietly lest Tsunade heard him.

The busty blonde did have quiet a temper after all. Something Naruto found was very scary, the hard way.

"Oh yeah? What's she doing here?" asked Konohamaru curiously.

"She's going to heal Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei soon. In the meantime, she's setting up to take over as the new Hokage," supplied Naruto.

Konohamaru's mouth dropped open at that.

"That's…no way! You're lying!" cried Konohamaru heatedly before running off without warning.

"Konohamaru!" called Elaine and Naruto after him.

The too shared a worried and confused glance as Konohamaru vanished from sight…

* * *

"Listen well, Tsunade. We must immediately notify all of the feudal lords and announce the inauguration of the Godaime Hokage. Then the village can start preparations for the ceremony," briefed Kohara.

"Is that really necessary? It sounds so troublesome," grumbled Tsunade.

"Tsunade!" said the female advisor sharply.

"Relax, I was just kidding. This is a Hokage's duty, I know," waved off Tsunade with a smile.

"One other thing. In exactly two weeks after you become Hokage, Tanaka has requested the continuation of the Chuunin selection exam. Will that be acceptable?" asked Houmura.

Tsunade smiled as she thought of a certain duo of kids she knew.

"Of course it is," replied Tsunade warmly.

The advisors nodded in approval.

"Genma, Aoba…"

The former judge of the Chuunin exam and the Jounin, that had slipped up from before by blurting out that Itachi had been in the village, appeared.

"Yes ma'am?" answered the two special Jounin humbly.

"Relay this message to all feudal lords. Also, inform all of the Chuunin exam participants as well. The inauguration of the Hokage shall commence in two weeks. Immediately following that, the Chuunin selection exam shall continue two weeks afterwards. All Chuunin candidates have one month to prepare."

"Understood!" replied both Jounin before taking off to carry out their orders…

* * *

Once the meeting was over, Naruto and Elaine regrouped with Tsunade and Shizune. Tsunade shot them knowing glances.

"Kakashi and that Sasuke kid, right?"

Naruto nodded in the positive.

"Alright, let's go," complied Tsunade while heading towards the stairs.

"Naruto, Elaine! You're back!" greeted Shikamaru's voice the moment they set foot outside.

Said person was heading towards them with his father accompanying him.

"Shikamaru, what's up?" greeted Naruto with a grin.

"I should ask you guys the same thing. My dad dragged me out here for some reason. Anyway, who're these guys?" asked Shikamaru while Tsunade and Shizune started conversing with his father, Shikaku.

"That's the new Godaime Hokage," replied Elaine.

Shikamaru's eyes grew wide at that.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but she's a lot older than she looks. I'm talking _old_," hinted Naruto with his hand blocking his lips from Tsunade's sight.

Shikamaru didn't even want to imagine what Tsunade really looked like. Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a few final words with Shikaku before moving on. Naruto and Elaine quickly followed.

"We'll talk more later. I want to show you a cool new trick I learned!" declared Naruto over his shoulder.

"Take care," added Elaine.

Shikamaru still couldn't believe it.

"A female Hokage. Geez, how troublesome," grumbled the younger Nara.

His dad shook his head in shame at his son's stereotypical view of women. Poor boy was spending too much time around Sakura and Ino these days…

* * *

Naruto and company found Sakura sitting faithfully besides Sasuke as usual. The room was filled with gloom that showed in Sakura's sad expression. She stood up in surprise upon spotting Naruto and the others. Her eyes lingered curiously on Tsunade. At the moment, she was in too much of an emotional strain to get excited at meeting Tsunade for the first time.

"Worry no more, Sakura-chan. Sasuke will be perfectly fine soon," promised Naruto with a grin.

Sakura looked towards Elaine, who nodded in agreement to what Naruto said with an excited smile. Shizune did the same. Sakura show Naruto a look of complete awe and increased respect. Once more, Naruto had done something nobody would've thought him capable of. Wordlessly, Tsunade approached Sasuke and gave him a quick once over. She took note of a pair of daffodils sitting besides Sasuke's hospital bed.

"_This girl must've been visiting him everyday. Such a lucky guy,_" observed Tsunade while giving Sakura a once over.

With a smile in her direction, Tsunade focused her powers and begun healing Sasuke's mind. Sakura's eyes widened in hope and amazement as Tsunade went to work. Twenty seconds later, Sasuke begun to stir. Tiredly the Uchiha opened his eyes and rose to a sitting position.

"Sasuke!" greeted Naruto with a pleased grin.

Everyone else smiled warmly at the Uchiha, but Sakura was beyond herself with relief. Tears streamed down her eyes and she embraced Sasuke in a hug without warning.

"Sasuke-kun!" wailed Sakura before sobbing.

Naruto grinned at the sight. Three months ago he might've gotten a bit depressed, but he didn't feel bad about it at all. Naruto faced Tsunade with eyes that said, 'Let's give them a moment alone.' Everyone exited the room and immediately proceeded to Kakashi's room. Tsunade healed him the exact same way as Sasuke. Kakashi was surprised to see Tsunade, though it was hard to tell due to how tired he looked.

"Baka. I heard you got beaten trying to take on two opponents at once. And here I thought you were a genius," scolded Tsunade.

"I'm sorry," apologized Kakashi quietly.

Naruto was bursting with energy at having two of his precious people back in action again. His face was framed with a constant grin.

"I'm glad you're okay again, Kakashi-sensei!" said Naruto cheerfully.

Gai rushed into the room at that moment with saucer sized eyes. Honestly, everyone was surprised that Gai didn't start begging her to sign personal belongs.

"This is such a youthful day! Meeting with the great Tsunade-sama, it's a dream come true!" rambled Gai.

The others were pretty much forgotten as Gai started talking Tsunade's ear off. Suddenly, Gai whipped out a pair of those awful green spandexes and begged Tsunade to sign it. Everyone sweat dropped and left the room as quickly as they could to escape the weirdness…

"Let's celebrate!" suggested Naruto excitedly once they were outside.

Elaine gave an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I want to check on Domino and Lee, you don't mind if I pass this time do you?" asked Elaine.

"No, it's alright. We can hang out later," replied Naruto with a good natured grin.

Elaine's eyes twinkled and she smiled before bowing her leave. Shizune also bowed her leave.

"I'll need to assist Tsunade-sama today. Perhaps some other time, Naruto-kun," excused Shizune.

Again Naruto didn't mind. With that, Naruto decided to head over to Ichiraku for a solo celebration…

* * *

Naruto ran into Iruka when he arrived at Ichiraku's. Both grinned from ear to ear as Naruto sat down next to him.

"I heard the story already. You're quite something to have found and brought a new Hokage to the village," begun Iruka with a proud smile.

Teuchi felt the same way since he once more set a free bowl of his deluxe special in front of Naruto. The blond was the emperor of lucky town at the moment.

"Itadakimasu!" cried Naruto before digging in.

Iruka watched him for a bit before grasping his forehead protector.

"You've come such a long way. I still remember the prankster that wanted one of these forehead protectors."

Naruto grinned.

"I'm trying my best! I have to now!" said Naruto happily.

"That's great, but don't let it go to your head. You still have a ways to go," teased Iruka before growing serious. "Konoha is in trying times now. It's no longer as strong as it once was. Nonetheless, work hard when you accept your missions okay?"

"Roger!" agreed Naruto before draining his bowl…

* * *

The following morning, Naruto was on his way to the hospital in the best mood he had been in in a long time. Aoba had came earlier to inform Naruto about the Chuunin exam and the upcoming inauguration ceremony for Tsunade. With a long month of training to look forward to, Naruto was fully planning on taking it easy today to spend time with all of his formerly bedridden comrades. From there, it was just a matter of finding a decent training partner.

Naruto's excitement was growing with each passing moment. As long as nobody or nothing tried to ruin it this time, the blond and his fellow Shinobi now had a shot at becoming Chuunin level ninja. For Naruto, that just meant that he was one step closer to becoming Hokage. So absorbed Naruto was in his thoughts that he neglected to pay attention to his surroundings. Naruto ended up accidentally bumping into someone exiting the hospital lobby.

"Er, sorry about that," apologized Naruto warily, just in case the victim was a member of the group of 'Kyuubi container haters.'

Fortunately for Naruto, this person wasn't one of the more ignorant villagers. As it turned out, Naruto had bumped into Tanaka of the Dragon Clan. Not that the blond knew that.

"Oh it's quite alright, son. It was just an accident so no harm done," waved off the old man amicably. "You must be the young man who's competing in this year's Chuunin exam. Allow me to wish you good luck."

Naruto grinned at that,

"Thanks, old man! Well, see you around!" said the blond before proceeding into the hospital.

Naruto had faintly took note of Tanaka's dragon handled dagger before he set foot inside. Tanaka watched Naruto with a twinkle of recognition and interest in his eyes. He could already tell that the kid had potential.

"_So that's Naruto, eh? Intriguing_…" observed Tanaka before turning to carry on with his business…

* * *

The first person Naruto went to see was Domino, who was still sharing a room with Lee.

"Naruto-kun!" greeted the mini Gai excitedly upon spotting Naruto's spiky blond hair.

In Domino's case, the overexcited earth manipulator sprang out of bed and glomped the startled blond. Her happy hug soon turned into a headlock that had Naruto comically failing his arms.

"You jerk!! How could you just up and leave without saying a word!? You even got to fight with Itachi Uchiha! You're lucky that he didn't kill you or worse!!" shouted Domino while giving the blond a somewhat disserved bashing. "What have you to say for yourself?"

"Um, sorry?" replied Naruto uncertainly.

Domino sighed and let him go before flopping down on her bed. She then folded her arms and frowned.

"I'll forgive you this time, Uzumaki. Next time I won't be so merciful," warned Domino before, just like that, she was brightly beaming at him. "Anyway, I'm glad you came! That was cool how you managed to find Tsunade and beat that weird 'Underwear' guy!"

Needless to say, his friend was in picture perfect health judging by her reaction. Most likely Tsunade had already went through the line with her medical abilities. Naruto sweat dropped at the sudden mood swings his lavender eyed friend seemed to go through. Hell, it was almost as scary as having Tsunade mad at you. Almost…

Lee was chuckling nervously while scratching his chin before heating up the flames of youth.

"Yosh! Most excellent, Naruto-kun! As expect of my rival to be able to beat the opponent that I could not! I have been inspired to work harder than ever!" cried Lee with his usual gusto.

"Well I didn't really beat him. It was actually Ero-sennin who…" begun Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Such modesty, Naruto-kun! You are indeed an excellent rival! Please, spar with me!" interrupted Lee while striking the nice guy pose.

Naruto was saved from having to respond to that by Sagitario, Gai and Tsunade entering the room.

"Hey, keep it down, gaki! This is a hospital!" shouted Tsunade, proving Naruto's theory about her scary temper to be accurate.

"Sorry," apologized Lee while rubbing the back of his bobbed head.

Gai let loose a jolly laugh.

"Take it easy on him, Tsunade-sama! My adorable student is still in the springtime of his youth! It's natural for him to make mistakes!" pointed out Lee's idol.

Tsunade glanced at him out the corner of her eyes and frowned.

"You're not much better," commented the blonde Sannin, making Gai sweat drop.

Tsunade then grew more professional.

"Domino…Lee, the treatments and checkup all seem to be good. Both of you are free to check out of the hospital today along with Sagitario," informed Tsunade.

"Yatai!" cheered Domino.

Lee stood up and bowed.

"Arigato, Tsunade-sama!" came Lee gratefully before straightening up and striking the nice guy pose. "Now I can finally train with my rival!"

Ping, went the mini Gai's teeth. Everyone's, save for Gai's, eyebrow begun to twitch as Lee's idol returned the gesture. Both of them were chuckling with a sunset background that even Tsunade couldn't dispel with a Genjutsu removing technique. Naruto did his best to tune them out and focused his attention on Sagitario.

"It great that you're back in good health again, Sagitario-sensei!" greeted Naruto warmly.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. Not only for wishing me well but also for bringing Tsunade-sama back to the village. Also…" Sagitario's eyes twinkled with mischief. "For taking care of _her _for me."

Instinctively, Naruto flushed from the lecher's teasing. It didn't help when Domino flashed a wolfish grin and draped an arm around Naruto's shoulders. Naruto already didn't like where this was going.

"So Naruto…" begun Domino.

"That's it! Alright fine! I like Elaine, okay!? Now stop teasing me about it!" cried Naruto with very red cheeks.

Naruto's outburst was met by a small gasp from the room door. Those who were looking in that general direction noticed a red blur zipping pass the slightly ajar door. Footfalls echoed down the hall in the direction of the hospital's entrance. Tsunade sighed when the sounds ceased.

"Tactless," muttered the female Hokage drawing a helping round of sweat drops.

Their embarrassment passed quickly enough and Naruto shot Sagitario a hopeful look.

"Sagitario-sensei, do you think it would be possible to help me out a little with my training?"

Naruto wasn't expecting the apologetic look that appeared on everyone's faces.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I've been asked to do a special mission on behalf of Tanaka-sama. Afterwards, I had already arranged to work with Elaine," declined Sagitario apologetically.

Naruto slightly tilted his head aside in a very owlish fashion.

"Tanaka-sama?" he echoed.

"The oldest and currently strongest member of the Dragon Clan. He doesn't have the Ryuuoh title though," answered Domino with a 'who knows why that is' shrug.

"Oh, that's pretty cool," commented Naruto before growing thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I bumped into an old guy wearing yellow and white with a dagger on the way here."

"No doubt that was Tanaka-sama," confirmed Sagitario.

Tsunade folded her arms under her massive bust while nodding.

"For now, he has been handling most matters and making requests to benefit the village. I'm aware of a mission request given to you and Elaine from Takumi that has been brought to my attention. After the inauguration and Chuunin selection exams have been concluded, the village will need all the jobs it can get so you have my thanks," chipped in the busty blonde.

"Sure, no problem…I guess," responded Naruto somewhat absently.

Domino knew that look on Naruto's face quite well. What the blond boy was thinking about was pretty obvious in any case.

"I don't know, Naruto. Tanaka-sama hasn't taken on a student in over twenty years. The odds of him agreeing to train you are pretty slim. Believe me, I tried," stated Domino knowingly.

If the news worried Naruto, he didn't show it. Instead, the blond grinned.

"If he's anything like Ero-sennin, it shouldn't be too hard to get him to train me. I'll find a way," declared Naruto with the nice guy pose.

Bad move on Naruto's part. Gai gave him a hard slap on the back while laughing his loud jolly laugh.

"Yosh! As expected of a genius of hard work! Bloom with the fires of youth, Naruto-kun!"

Gai's boisterous rant about the power of youth was cut short when Tsunade grabbed his ear, none too gently, and dragged him out of the room with moody grumbles.

"Wait, Tsunade-sama! I wasn't finished yet!" wailed Gai.

"You will be if you don't lower the volume!" roared Tsunade from somewhere down the hall.

The others shivered slightly save for Lee, who bowed his leave with a nervous chuckle and dashed after his sensei. Like Naruto said, she was scary. Anyway, the group got over Gai's torturing quickly enough.

"Well, I've certainly enjoyed seeing you guys again but I need to go get packed for my mission now. Perhaps we'll have a chance to chat more when I get back," said Sagitario kindly.

Some quick parting words later, the lecher set off leaving Naruto and Domino to their own design.

"Geez, training is going to be rough. Guess I'll make the most of today and get some ice cream. Did you want to come?" asked Domino.

Naruto grinned at the offer. It was so like Domino to gorge herself on sweets. Naruto placed his arms behind his head.

"That sounds great but I can't today."

"Aww, why not?" asked Domino with a slight pout.

"Sorry, there are a few more faces I want to see. But, to make it up to you, I'll treat you after the exam to whatever you want to eat," promised the blond.

"Deal!" agreed Domino excitedly before giving a small wave. "Well, guess I'll catch you later then. Bye-bye."

"Bye."

With that, the duo split up…

* * *

Naruto made the rest of his rounds by paying a visit to Hinata, whose face turned so red at the sight of him that Naruto had worriedly called the nurse. The medic snickered upon finding it was just a false alarm, not to mention how clueless Naruto was. Despise the embarrassing scene, Hinata was kept well entertained by Naruto giving a detailed recap of his misadventures. Kiba and Akamaru had stopped by just in time to hear the more climactic parts of the tale.

Soon following, Kiba announced that Hinata's heart condition had pretty much stabilized thanks to Tsunade and she would be allowed to leave the hospital in a few days, much to Naruto's pleasure. Anyway, after a few more minutes of chatting, the group spared some parting words and get well wishes before separating yet again.

With the hospital visits now done, mainly since Sasuke had stubbornly refused to stay in the hospital and dragged Kakashi with him for training earlier that morning, Naruto immediately set about trying to find Tanaka. Moving as little more than a speeding blur, the blond haired youth had covered just about every square inch of the village before he finally detected Tanaka's suppressed but still quite strong chakra force. Naruto came to a stop in a tree close to the cenotaph that Kakashi frequently visited. Tanaka stood in front of the stone with his head bowed in prayer.

Not wanting to disturb the man, Naruto quietly sat and waited for him to finish his prayers. Naruto didn't have to wait for very long though.

"You had something you wanted to ask me?" surmised Tanaka without turning around.

Naruto steeled himself for what he was about to do.

"You're Tanaka of the Dragon Clan, aren't you?"

"Yes. That's correct," confirmed the elder.

Naruto hopped out of his tree and sank into a humble bow.

"Please, Tanaka-sama. I've come to seek training from you. Will you accept me as your student?"

Naruto remained in that bowed position while Tanaka silently contemplated the matter. After a moment, Tanaka opened his eyes and gazed upwards towards the sky.

"I can tell, that you have a good deal of potential. If shaped properly, I know for sure that you will become stronger than any Shinobi ever produced thus far in Konoha. A good teacher would make such a future quite real. Unfortunately, I cannot train one who lacks experience," said Tanaka calmly.

Naruto had been expecting this after hearing what Domino had said but the rejection still stung. The blond buoyed his head.

"Why is that? Surely you could teach me what it is I am lacking?"

"And so you have just proved my point. For me to have to tell you proves that you're not suited to becoming my protégé. Yet, I sense that you already know the answer deep within. Nearly within your grasp is the experience needed to shape your own future. I'm terribly sorry that you've wasted your time," shot down Tanaka before turning to leave.

Naruto didn't try to stop him, knowing that he would be unable to change his mind no matter what he said. For the blond, all that lingered in his thoughts was the feeling of knowing without understanding what was right in front of his face…

* * *

Jiraiya had witnessed the whole conversation from within the shadows of a nearby tree. The Toad Sage wasn't really all that surprised when Tanaka had begun walking his way. The Dragon elder paused a few feet behind Jiraiya.

"The boy knows how to use Namikaze's technique doesn't he?"

"Yeah. He has shown considerable, if spontaneous, mastery of the Rasengan. He had even managed to find a way to temper its' destructive force to new levels," replied Jiraiya.

"Is that so? A prodigy his age is quite rare. Perhaps I may have misjudged him," commented Tanaka thoughtfully.

"Perhaps. The boy is made of strong stuff and has incredible willpower. He has also managed to survive and even fight after enduring the strain of training with Xi's younger brother. Furthermore, Naruto has some control over the chakra of the Nine Tails."

"Really? Now that's interesting. While admittedly, Genmaru is more suited, Naruto cannot be overlooked as a potential candidate. Please excuse me, Jiraiya-san. I'll need time to confirm and reconsider my decision," said Tanaka just moments before vanishing from sight.

Jiraiya leaned against a tree and glanced at Naruto out the corner of his eyes.

"_This is the best I can do for you, kid. The rest is up to you…_"

* * *

Naruto found himself aimlessly wandering about the village with his arms folded and a frown of deep thought etched upon his features. Tanaka's words echoed within Naruto's mind but no matter how hard he thought, what he lacked did not become any clearer. All the blond knew was that Tanaka had more or less hinted that he was on the verge of obtaining it…

"Naruto Nii-san!" came a pair of desperate voices from behind him.

Naruto turned around to find Moegi and Udon dashing towards him. Without even stopping to catch their breath, they begun frantically speaking at the same time.

"Hold it! Slow down!" cried Naruto. "Now what's wrong?"

"It's Konohamaru-chan! He's…" begun Moegi.

"He locked himself in the Hokage's office and won't come out!" concluded Udon.

"Really? Why?" asked Naruto.

"We don't know! Please help us!" begged Moegi.

"Sure, lets go," agreed Naruto…

The group arrived at the office a few minutes later. Tsunade, Shizune, Tonton and a couple of Chuunin were already there. The Chuunin were forming seals in preparation of breaking the door down.

"Hang on!" cried Naruto, drawing everyone's eye. "Don't be too hard on him. I'm not sure what's going on but would you let me talk to him?"

"That kid is a friend of yours?" asked Tsunade.

"Yes," replied Naruto with a nod.

Tsunade glanced at the office for a moment before closing her eyes coolly.

"Alright then, I'll leave things to you. Have that perverted brat out of my office by the end of today," ordered Tsunade before walking off in search of a bar.

Shizune followed carrying a large pile of books. The Chuunin nodded and took their leave as well. Once alone, Naruto approached the door and begun knocking on it.

"Hey, Konohamaru! What in the world are you doing in there?" shouted Naruto through the door.

Konohamaru didn't answer him.

"Come on! If you come out, I'll teach you a cool new technique!" bribed Naruto.

Again Konohamaru ignored him.

"At least say something!" cried Naruto angrily.

"Shut up! Just leave me alone, baka!" shouted Konohamaru.

A vein throbbed in Naruto's temple.

"Why you little…! Open this door or I'll break it down!" threatened Naruto.

"Go ahead and try!" taunted Konohamaru.

"Alright! You asked for it!" growled Naruto before hopping back a few feet.

The blond charged and rammed the door with his shoulder. It didn't budge since something or other on the other side was barricading it. However, Naruto's impact caused a bunch of metal pans to slide out of a flap above him. They all crashed onto the hapless blond.

"Damn it…who would've thought that you were good at setting traps," groaned Naruto from somewhere beneath the metal tubs.

Moegi and Udon quickly helped Naruto out of pile.

"Are you alright?" they asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Naruto while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Naruto then faced the door again.

"At least tell me why you're doing this? I mean, everyone is worried about you for cry it out loud!" pleaded Naruto.

Konohamaru ignored him.

"Konohamaru!!"

"This room belongs to gramps! I refuse to let anyone else use it!" cried Konohamaru finally.

Everyone stiffened in surprise.

"That's why you're doing this?" asked Naruto.

"That's right! And as his grandson, I will protect this place!" snapped Konohamaru.

"You idiot! What you're doing is completely selfish!" cried Naruto.

"I don't care!" shot back Konohamaru.

"You can't be serious, what about the village!?"

Konohamaru didn't respond. Naruto sighed and lazily leaned against the wall with his hands in his pocket. The blond then chuckled after a moment.

"It's funny, I think I understand you now, Konohamaru. The pain of losing someone precious to you, it hurts a lot doesn't it? It's almost like having a piece of your heart smashed beyond recovery. There's this never ending ache and all you can think of is the last thing you ever said to him before he died. But guess what, Konohamaru. You aren't the only one grieving the loss of such a great man. Every man, woman and child in this village miss Sandaime-sama just as much as you do. The Third gave us hope, made us smile, protected us, took care of many of us as if we were his own family. Most of all, Hokage-sama left within each of us the will of fire," lectured Naruto with shadows over his eyes.

Moegi and Udon were silently crying for the Third as Naruto spoke. Every last word was nothing more than the truth. The truth could be such a painful thing but for the 'honorable grandson' locked within Sarutobi's office, it meant so much more.

"Hey, Konohamaru…do you remember when we first met? Heh, you were trying so hard to beat the old man back then. Those were funny times but now look at you. You've become an accomplished trap specialist working hard just to protect and preserve the Third's name. I'm sure he would be proud of your achievements thus far, but I doubt if the Third would enjoy seeing you like this. We both know that this isn't the way to go about it. So please, come out of there Konohamaru. Let's show Hokage-sama that we shall carry the will of fire proudly as future Hokages," concluded Naruto while watching the door out the corner of his eyes with an encouraging smile.

Konohamaru stayed silent for a moment as he thought about what Naruto had just told him. In short, the message behind Naruto's words clearly said that it was okay. So long as even a small spark of the fabled will of fire lived on, Sarutobi would always be inside of each and every last one of them giving them strength. This strength would in turn grant them the power to protect those who are precious.

"Naruto-nii-san…could you help me. I can't get out of here with all these traps set up," requested the ninja in training quietly.

Naruto grinned while Udon and Moegi smiled in delight. Naruto's words had created a breakthrough. Calmly, Naruto stood up and reared back his right arm.

"Alright, I'll get you out of there in just a moment. Stand back and take cover, Konohamaru," instructed the blond.

"Hai!"

Steadily, chakra begun gathering in Naruto's raised palm when abruptly Domino came running down the hall.

"Pardon me, coming through!" greeted the lavender eyed girl cheerily.

"Why…?" begun Naruto while lowering his Rasengan arm.

Domino just winked and smiled mischievously.

"Trust me, Elaine and I dealt with him all the time," said Domino before facing the door.

With the greatest of ease, Domino shoved the door open. Several pots and pans fell down to get her but Domino simply knocked them aside. The lavender eyed girl drew a pair of kunai and entered the room. Quickly she cut through the trap wires in front of her and rammed her knifes into the exploding notes planted on the door before they could detonate. Domino stepped forward and ground the note on the floor with her heel. She hopped backwards to avoid a sudden rain of books and tables. She easily knocked them aside and proceeded further into the room. Domino didn't even flinch as she sidestepped a kunai wave. The last trap, she caught with her bare hands in the form of a large boulder. Domino tossed it aside causing the room to shake a bit. She stood in front of Konohamaru with her hands on her hips.

"You causing trouble again?" scolded Domino playfully.

Konohamaru sheepishly placed a hand behind his head and stared at the floor. In all of his years of studying booby traps, Konohamaru had yet to come up with a trap that Domino and Elaine couldn't get around. Naruto and the others came in as well.

Konohamaru's expression immediately became apologetic.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you guys."

Moegi immediately glomped the lad tearfully while Naruto rubbed his nose.

"Aw, it's alright, Konohamaru. Just don't try pulling anything like that again, those pans really hurt! Maybe I should ask you for some advice on setting traps," kidded Naruto.

Konohamaru's smile warmed up before he frowned and hugged his knees.

"Thanks for all the things you said, nii-san. You're right, it really does hurt and seeing that woman taking over as the new Hokage and touching his things…"

"Geez, Konohamaru. Do you really hate granny Tsunade that much?" asked Naruto with a concerned frown.

"That's not it," murmured Konohamaru while resting his chin on his knees.

"Then what's the deal?" asked Naruto.

"People will stop calling me young master one day. Soon they'll forget all about grandpa. All the great things he done, it'll become a distant dream."

"That's not true!" cried Domino.

"Nobody will forget about the Third. I'll make sure of it!" chipped in Naruto.

"That's a lie! They will forget!" shot down Konohamaru.

"Trust me, they won't," came another voice.

Everyone turned towards it to find Tsunade, Shizune and Elaine standing in the doorway. Everyone then smiled at Konohamaru.

"They won't forget?" murmured Konohamaru.

"They won't forget," reassured Naruto with the thumbs up.

Konohamaru hugged his legs again and closed his eyes tearfully.

"Grandpa…"

* * *

Naruto spent a few hours after that incident helping to clean up Tsunade's office. The whole while, Naruto kept commenting on Konohamaru's skills with traps. More than once, the blond had spotted a particularly well thought out trigger or group of chain reactions that would've made excellent diversions and possibly have even beaten some higher level ninjas. Konohamaru had grinned when Naruto finally did ask for tips saying 'I've finally beaten my rival at something.'

Regardless, once the job was done, Naruto soon turned back to the task of finding a training partner. Once again, this proved to take little time at all. Naruto had no sooner stepped out of Tsunade's all purpose manor when Tanaka landed in front of him from above. The old man straightened up and stared hard into Naruto's eyes, making the blond more than a little uneasy.

Soon, Tanaka nodded and begun stroking his beard.

"I heard what you said to that child. Perhaps I might have misjudged you. Looking into your eyes, I can tell that you have re-learned exactly what it was you lacked after talking to him. What more, Sagitario-san quite strongly vouched for you claiming that your potential was not unlike that of Xi's when he was your age. Jiraiya-san as well."

Naruto became more and more hopeful with each word Tanaka said. Inside, the blond was praising the Pervy Sage's and Sagitario's name like crazy. Finally, Tanaka rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Normally I wouldn't bother to do such a thing, but the vouching of a high level Ryuukishi is as good as one nomination from the Ryuuoh himself. I cannot ignore such a claim without investigating into it first. Thus, I will test your resolves and see if you can defend what you have re-learned with your fists. If you succeed, not only will I help you with your training but I will also speak to the Kokuo no Meshitsukai on your behalf giving you a solid chance of being able to become a member of the Dragon Clan."

The last sentence spoke volumes for Naruto. Nearly blown away the boy was and rightly so. This was a golden opportunity sent from Buddha himself! Not only would Naruto give it his all, the boy would make the old man see him as worthy. Of that, Naruto swore upon everything he stood for.

Sensing the boy's mettle quite clearly, Tanaka nodded in approval. A hot fiery sprit was a good thing to have. Naruto was sure to go far.

"Well then, this place seems a bit too cramped for testing you if Jiraiya-san's assessment is as accurate as he claims. Why don't you come and meet me at training field nineteen in say one hour. That way you'll have time to prepare. Good luck to you, sonny."

With that, Tanaka disappeared in a poof of smoke…

* * *

That hour, was perhaps the longest hour of Naruto's life. The boy's mind was a high speed jumble of battle tactics and strategies that kept popping into his head every few seconds. But, no matter how much Naruto planned, it still stood to reason that the blond had absolutely no idea what to plan for. Tanaka's fighting style, techniques, and even what kind of test the old man had in mind was a complete mystery. Mysteries could break a Shinobi.

There was little choice but to hope that the test wouldn't be overwhelming difficult. Who knows, maybe he would get lucky. He was wearing his lucky charm after all, the blue pendant hanging from his neck. Anyway, after grabbing all his supplies and smacking his cheeks a few times to pump himself up, Naruto proceeded to the arranged testing site right on the hour.

Tanaka came into view doing some form of Tai Chi exercises, most likely to warm up. Naruto took the opportunity to stretch and get limber while he waited. It was a bit later by the time Tanaka finished and exhaled a cleansing breath.

"So far, you are doing well already. You have a strong sense of honor and a good sense of patience for you see, your test has already begun."

Tanaka turned towards Naruto and smiled with approving eyes. Naruto nervously swallowed and gave Tanaka his full attention. The blond was taking no chance on missing a single detail of his task.

"Good, you are focused. You are one with your mind and environment. Alert and prepared to react instantly. Your past battles and encounters have taught you much. Very well, before I tell you what you must do, I shall elaborate on the key strengths that you have re-learned."

Tanaka begun circling Naruto while stroking his long beard. His keen eyes catching and observing every move, no matter how slight, Naruto made. A true master of the fighting arts at his finest, able to gauge and perceive every flaw, strength and weakness with a single glance.

"Three principles can bring out the true power of any living creature but can mean life and death for a fighter. All three principals are strengths within themselves that, together, results in ultimate power levels. However, very few can skillfully and consistently combine the three. Especially during battle related situations. The only person I know who ever could was the Dragon Lord himself, Xi-sama. That is why the Dragon Clan exists, Naruto. To gather together those who can use these strengths and use them well as a whole."

Naruto nodded and if at all possible, became even more determined to do his best. His resolves did not go unnoticed by Tanaka, who again seemed to approve.

"All living creatures take strength from the heart, mind and sprit and channels them through the body. Naruto, your heart has been strengthened by being acknowledged and returning acknowledgement to perhaps the most important people you know and interact with on a daily basis. In turn, you came to strongly desire, more than anything else, to protect them and gained incredible power because of it. This is call strength of the heart and is by far the easiest of the three to unlock and control."

A pause to allow Naruto a chance to absorb that principal, during which Tanaka saw pride in both himself and his precious people swell.

"The strength of the sprit is a little harder to understand and yet, without that strength we would not be able to survive for very long. Being directly tied to the strength of the heart, spiritual strength is directly shaped and influenced by the events contained within the heart's memories. For you, Naruto, your sprit grew to its' peak the moment your heart filled itself with the light of every single person you care about. Something I believe you refer to as the will of fire. As such, your sprit draws the greatest amount of strength and most easily unites with the strength of your heart when you accept and resolve wholeheartedly to willingly give your own life to defend others. Thus no matter how much pain inflicted, you refuse to give up until your last breath has been taken."

As Naruto accepted and believed what was just said, very faintly, Naruto's pendant begun to pulse with a steady glow. One that was only just noticed by Tanaka, earning increased respect from the elder. Naruto wasn't aware of it, but learning and using these lessons that he instinctively had already known begun to stir something within his Kyokko Hoseki.

"Finally, the strength of the mind is the one power that is the most difficult to use. It is linked to why you fight, how you live and for what purpose you exist. Someone who understands and can use this strength in conjunction with the heart and sprit is a person who will be unparalleled. Such a person will have few equals but a life filled with never ending trials and hardship. A Kage, for instance, is but a shadow of such a powerful entity. So ask yourself this, Naruto. What do you consider the source of your power? What is your sword?"

Naruto closed his eyes and thought back to something he had read not too long ago…

_Unable to do so alone, the hero shall draw strength from the heart of all souls…_

"Power? Don't be stupid, my friends are my power!" declared Naruto with his eyes still closed and a knowing smile on his face.

It was fortunate that Naruto's eyes were closed since his pendant abruptly released an incredibly bright flash of light! Tanaka was forced to shield his eyes until the flash passed.

"_Intriguing. So he, as one of the chosen eight, has managed to awaken his sleeping pendant. Remarkable,_" observed Tanaka.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to reveal that his irises were glowing. The glow of both his eyes and pendant faded soon enough leaving the blond looking no different than before. Judging by his puzzled look, due to the way Tanaka was staring at him, Naruto had absolutely no idea what had just happened.

Not wanting to burden Naruto with something outside of his original intensions, Tanaka kept quite about what had transpired and cleared his throat.

"Well, clearly you understand and are capable of using all three of the principals together fairly easily. I won't beat around the bushes then. Your task is simple, lad. All you have to do is hit me once and I'll consider training you," declared Tanaka amicably.

Naruto was more than thrilled by the golden opportunity Tanaka had just given him. However, Naruto knew full well that it wasn't going to be easy at all. Slowly, Naruto kneeled and pulled the catch releases on his leg weights! This being the first time he had ever removed them since his training days with Genmaru made the blond sigh ever so slightly in relief. In all seriousness, Naruto sank into the Flowing River stance. Tanaka smiled and nodded in acknowledgement but did not assume any stances himself.

Naruto took a deep calming breath and relaxed his muscles. All Naruto needed was one hit, otherwise there were no rules to this little 'test.' With that knowledge engraved well into his mind, the blond made the first move! To someone on the outside looking in, they would've seen Naruto flickering for a split second.

Tanaka ignored the blond standing in front of him and looked up to see a second Naruto sailing towards him from above. In short, Naruto had cleverly created an afterimage to try and distract him. It was such a shame that it didn't work.

Tanaka knocked Naruto incoming kick aside with ease using his left arm. Naruto landed and immediately spun into a lightening fast roundhouse. Naruto's spinning kick met only empty air since Tanaka leaned his head aside without even looking. Naruto used the modem of his kick to propel himself forward into a power stream punch.

Naruto's fist was seized before it even had a chance to get into motion! Tanaka raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly as if appraising Naruto's skill thus far. Poor Naruto was then sent sailing back through the air via a simple palm strike to the chest from the Dragon elder. Naruto landed with a winded groan on his back while Tanaka calmly stroked his long beard.

Naruto used his hands to boost him back onto his feet and reassumed his stance. Faster than most people would've seen, Naruto hurled a kunai forward for his two in one combination. Tanaka expressed no concern at all about the clever pincer attack. The old man simply faded away into thin air!

Naruto frantically looked every which way until he spotted Tanaka standing on the branch of a nearby apple tree. The elderly super ninja leisurely plucked an apple that looked ripe enough and rubbed it on his robes before biting into it. Naruto couldn't help but be somewhat annoyed by how weak Tanaka was making him out to be. Then again, the old guy did have several dozen years more experience. Naruto's Taijutsu and speed were clearly outmatched here. That being the case, Naruto formed his favorite seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The arrival of seven additional Narutos drew Tanaka's interest and the old man leaped down from the apple tree and approached while still eating. Tanaka stopped a few feet away and waited for any of the Narutos to make a move. It came all too soon when two of the clones charged to engage the man, buying the real Naruto and his remaining copies attention free time to put his battle plan in motion.

Tanaka blocked the high kick of one clone and latched onto his leg with his only free hand. Tanaka then easily used his right leg to land jolting kicks to the other clone's leg every time it tried to approach. The results was a wincing clone that could barely stand before Tanaka hit him square on the head with his half eaten apple. The clone went up in a poof. The opposite clone soon followed when Tanaka swept his one leg that wasn't being held from under him and slammed his face very hard into the dirt.

Tanaka seemed almost disappointed as he watched the remaining clones cautiously approach. As much talent and potential as Naruto displayed, the elder ninja had somewhat overestimated the kid. Tanaka hoped beyond hope that Naruto would prove him wrong.

"Okay! It time for a new combo! Ground zero Uzumaki formation, go!" abruptly cried the real Naruto once the clones were close enough.

Sure enough, the clones literally assumed a formation with three charging in a line and the last two supportively running on either side of them. The results was a kind of arrowhead that cleverly set the rear of the line up for a surprise attack. A mildly impressed Tanaka smiled and sank into a loose stance to meet the challenge. Considering Naruto's reputation as the number one ninja at surprising people, the old man might've actually needed to try this time.

The lead Naruto and two side supporters begun forming seals in unison.

"Katon, Konbi Karyuu Endan!" they cried.

True to its' name, the trio of fire Jutsu united in the from of one large inferno of flames in the shape of a dragonhead! Tanaka calmly reared back his fist and waited for the flames to come closer while encaging his hand in a dome of bright chakra.

"_A small sample of my special technique. Ten percent should do nicely,_" thought Tanaka in amusement.

Oddly enough the Kyuubi, who would normal sit back and let Naruto fight as he saw fit, became very uneasy and agitated.

"_**Fall back, kit!**_"

"Huh?" grunted the rearmost and real Naruto, who hadn't been expecting her to speak.

"_**Fool! Unless you want to end up moaning and groaning on the floor like a pansy, move your ass!**_" roared the Kitsune.

Naruto gave a small 'eep' despise himself. Getting yelled at by a giant fox was almost like having several sirens going off at the same time. Not very pleasant.

"H-hai!" consented the blond while making use of his speed to get out of the way.

From the safety of a distant tree, Naruto watched as Tanaka said something that he was too far away to hear. The old man then punched forward into the flames with his chakra covered fists. Naruto didn't know if his mind was playing tricks on him or not but he could've sworn that his clone's fire attack seemed almost terrified looking.

All Naruto remembered seeing after that was a flash of light that was way too fast for even his eyes to follow. Within the span of a split second, the flames and all of his clones were gone from sight, not to mention a few dozen feet worth of forest! Naruto stiffened when Tanaka appeared directly behind him and placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder. The old man leaned down until his lips were level with Naruto's ear.

"And so the Kyuubi saves you once again. I'm pleased to know that you're willing to keep your options open and trust the judgment of others when necessary. Had you not escaped, I would not have used that technique, but I would not have allowed you to continue with the test either. A loose cannon is hardly worthy of becoming a student of mine. Good job."

Naruto glanced at Tanaka's face, which was giving a very Kakashi like smile, and nodded.

"Thanks," said the blond before lashing out with a backlash kick.

Tanaka had long since taken to the air to avoid it with amusement in his eyes.

"_At least he has not forgotten the goal here,_" mused the old man as he landed gently in the center of the clearing.

Tanaka watched as Naruto dropped down from the tree and advanced forward until only a few feet were between them. Naruto's eyes were fully determined and prepared to do everything in his power to win. In all seriousness, Naruto assumed the Flowing River stance. Tanaka's eyebrows rose at what Naruto's unexpected change in tact indicated. With a respectful bow, Tanaka eased into his own stance. More specifically, the Power Stream stance used in advanced Kung Fu.

For the longest, the duo stared at each other. Analyzing every weak point in their respective stances and planning out their moves. Taijutsu experts at their finest, being more than capable of identifying how their bodies would best flow just from the stances alone. Then, Naruto took the initiative and attacked. The three principals of strength fresh in his mind, Naruto's fists moved like liquid power.

Three fluid punches flew, with each easily being blocked. Tanaka expertly attempted a sidelong chop aimed at the boy's voice box. Naruto caught his arm with barely a glance in his left hand and smoothly rolled into a back knuckle. Tanaka's expecting palm knocked it aside and his knee was already rising to intercept long before Naruto spun low for a hammer blow.

The marvelous display of Taijutsu skills would blown minds. Neither where truly able to land solid hits on each other at all. For every action one made, the other would already have a perfectly executed block ready to defend. Of course, Tanaka wasn't exactly going all out against his junior but Naruto's ability to hold his own was most definitely impressive.

At some point however, Naruto begun playfully getting a little cocky. Just to keep the mood light, the blond took a boxer approach and rapidly rubbed his nose with his thumb. Tanaka's eyes twinkled with mirth and he smiled a the boy's silliness. The old man got into the game and made a gesture to 'bring it' with his fingers.

Naruto readily obliged and leaped forward for a triple rising step kick. Tanaka blocked all three and quickly ducked when Naruto landed and immediately spun into a roundhouse. The boy's foot passed overhead with enough control on his part for him to speedily lash out with a trio of sidekicks. One to Tanaka's left, one to his right side and then back to his left again. The old man blocked all three and ducked a second time to avoid another roundhouse from Naruto's opposite leg.

Naruto hopped back one step and lashed out with a strong buster kick. Tanaka caught his foot with both hands and gave a fast twist. Startled, Naruto found himself involuntarily twisting in the air before landing with a grunt on his back. Naruto's cocky playfulness quickly vanished, though Tanaka was still smiling.

"Good. Adaptation, flexible and in a certain sense unpredictable. Your weakness is most certainly not your technique, that's for sure," praised the old man.

Naruto acknowledged that gratefully and kicked up back onto his feet. Naruto had no sooner assumed his stance again before spinning into a third roundhouse in an attempt to catch Tanaka by surprise. The attempt was futile. Once more, Tanaka ducked it with ease and spun into his own rising roundhouse sweep. Naruto leaned back onto his right hand to avoid it and lashed out with two quick kicks from both legs. Neither of them connected as Tanaka blocked them with his left leg.

Shifting back onto his feet, Naruto attacked with a high kick just as Tanaka did the same. Both caught each other's legs and locked eyes. Naruto had to admit, this geezer was tough! Releasing each other's legs, both fighters hopped back one step and entered a standoff. It was a short lived one though since Naruto hastily tried to force an opening in Tanaka's defenses with two fast snap kicks.

Tanaka knocked both down with his palms and used his foot to pin Naruto's down. Giving Naruto little time to shift his balance, Tanaka hopped into a light but still painful spin kick to Naruto's gut. The blond stumbled backwards a few steps and winced. The blond recovered quickly enough and stepped forward for a quick set of side kicks. Tanaka blocked both and took hold of Naruto's leg in an iron grip. With a smooth half turn, Tanaka's positioned his foot behind Naruto's only free foot and hit home in his gut with a hard palm blow.

The wind whooshed out of Naruto as he flew backwards several feet and landed hard on his back. Tanaka patiently waited for Naruto to rise again. The blond begun to get annoyed from being out muscled and twirled his legs like a break dancer to more easily climb up into a crouched position. Naruto charged while rising for a leaping aerial sweep. Tanaka danced around Naruto's kick and lashed out with his own sidekick.

Naruto blocked that one, along with the old man's double punch before throwing his own punch. Tanaka merely caught Naruto's arm and with expert style, tugged to send Naruto flying to land with a groan on his stomach. Naruto rolled onto his back just in time to see Tanaka above him in the air for what would surely be a painful knee drop if he didn't move it. Naruto did just that and rolled out of the way of the lethal attack.

Tanaka hit the ground, creating a small web of cracks before springing back to his feet and turning towards Naruto. The boy was panting now, already beginning to tire. Still, there was no way he was giving up now. Fueling his muscles with chakra, Naruto shot forward for a strong right hook. Tanaka avoided it and deftly kept knocking Naruto's arms aside in varying assortment of grappling moves until an opening presented itself. Gathering power into his fist, Tanaka hit hard for the third time into Naruto's protesting guts.

Naruto's legs flew out from under him from the force and he landed with a groan on his stomach once more. In a rare display of frustration, Naruto pounded the ground and pushed himself back to his feet. More experienced fighter he may be dealing with, Naruto did not much like to lose. Hell who did? Once more, the two took stances. This time, Tanaka took it upon himself to take the initiative.

Naruto's defenses slackened by his frustration made it all the more easier for Tanaka to fake the kid out with a feint in the form of a punch to the face. As expected, Naruto raised his arms to try and guard only for Tanaka to switch his attack into a buster kick to the gut yet again. Naruto stumbled off balance and only just recovered in time to block a chain of rapid punches.

Naruto caught Tanaka's fists and with a cry tried to flip the man onto his back. No go, however. Tanaka pulled a Genmaru and rolled into the grapple. Using the gathered momentum, Tanaka reversed the move right back onto Naruto. The panting blond laid sprawled on his back glistening with sweat. Naruto rolled onto his hands and pushed up into a forward flip just in time to avoid having his legs swept from under him.

Not stopping, Naruto raced towards a nearby tree a few feet away and ran alongside it before boosting off and twisting in midair so that he was facing Tanaka. The old man watched as Naruto sailed towards him with his fists reared back. Tanaka was no fool, however. What Naruto was intending to do was telegraphed very clearly on his face due to his unconcealed frustration and desperation.

Tanaka spun around the instant Naruto used the aerial skip and kicked the spot behind him. Poor Naruto could only cry out as the force of it sent him flying backwards clear across the clearing to slam hard into a tree. Naruto sank onto his hands and knees, coughing and gasping for breath.

Quite calmly, Tanaka approached the boy with his left arm behind his back and his right hand stroking his beard. It was sometime before Naruto got his breathing under control long enough to met Tanaka's surprisingly neutral gaze.

"How did I beat you?" asked Tanaka simply.

Naruto hung his head and stared at the ground for a second before sitting down Indian style.

"You're faster, stronger and more experienced than me," murmured the blond.

"True, but do you honestly think that my being faster or stronger has anything to do with the nature of your fighting style?"

Naruto didn't have an answer for that. Tanaka's gaze immediately became stern.

"Like a kid, you let your frustrations impede and cloud your judgment. Had you stopped yourself during the match, you would've noticed that your movement were losing coordination and that your strength was decreasing. In short, you were losing hold of the principals of strength. As a ninja who desires only to protect others and draws power from that, you should've recognized what was happening sooner."

"I know. Gomen," murmured Naruto.

Tanaka turned around and walked a few paces away.

"Normally I would immediately stop this test and refuse to train you altogether. However…"

Tanaka glanced over his shoulder and shot Naruto a look of warning.

"You sincerely have held true to your desire and so are deserving of at least one more chance. Potential such as yours, shaped without much guidance from an instructor, is prone to making mistakes sometimes. I suggest you don't blow it this time, son."

Naruto brightened up a little and gratefully bowed.

"Thank you very much, Tanaka-sama!"

Tanaka nodded and spun back around.

"Well then. Let's continue."

Nodding, Naruto waited until he finally regained control over his breathing and wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. Pushing himself back to his feet, Naruto took a calming breath and relaxed his face into a look of contemplation. Naruto never dreamed that it would finally come to this moment. No matter how strong the opponent, none had ever pushed him so far as to resort to truly drawing on his full potential like Tanaka could. This would be it, Naruto's last shot.

Tanaka's gaze remained stern, reminding Naruto of his warning quite vividly. Naruto raised and crossed his arms overhead.

"Chakra no Tate…"

Naruto's arms then dropped to his side and he clenched his fists with full concentration written on his features.

"KAI!"

Instantly, Naruto's armbands released Naruto's sealed chakra! In mere moments, Naruto's humongous and blinding chakra aura appeared around him resulting in an outward shockwave of force so strong that even Tanaka had a tough time trying to stand. Naruto's completely unleashed chakra spiraled into the air like a helix and was close to half the overall strength he got from taking one twelfth of the Kyuubi's chakra! For once, Tanaka seem truly and deeply impressed.

"_To think he would obtain this much strength in so short a time. The results of his interactions with his comrades and peers are astounding. Genmaru's training especially stands out here,_" observed the Dragon elder.

Tanaka was given no time to elaborate on his thoughts. Without warning, Naruto dashed forward with nearly unrivaled speed for a blitz punch. Tanaka knocked it aside without much difficulty, though his old bones creaked and groaned in protest from the force. Naruto pressed his assault using his free hand for a wall breaker attack.

Tanaka leaned aside just enough to seize Naruto's arm and hold it in place on his old shoulder. Tanaka then took a grappler's approach in an attempt to lock Naruto's arm behind him. The blond however, cleverly relaxed his arm to force Tanaka to shift his grip allowing Naruto to rip his arm away from the elderly fighter. Naruto speedily spun for a high crane kick that Tanaka backpedaled away from.

Naruto had no intention of allowing Tanaka to gather his bearings. The young battle prodigy shot right after him with his fists flying like Gattling guns. Only Tanaka's much higher level of battle experience allowed him to predict Naruto's style enough to block everything. Abruptly, Tanaka leaned into Naruto's assault and hit Naruto's chest with his shoulder to force the kid to stumble backwards a bit.

The small leeway gained was all Tanaka need to reclaim the upper hand again. Tanaka seized both of Naruto's arms and prevented the blond from performing any kicks by pinning his attacking foot down every time with his legs. Desperately, Naruto attempted a head butt only for Tanaka to lean backwards while taking Naruto with him for a foot launch.

Naruto sailed into the air with a grunt and gasped when Tanaka appeared in front of him. The older warrior took hold of Naruto's shoulder to hold him in place and applied chakra to the kid's nerves. To Naruto's despair, his body begun to slacken into a state not unlike that of a newborn child. He had been rendered helpless!

Some smooth and quick arm work on Tanaka's part sent Naruto sailing and crashing hard upon the ground. Naruto winced and laid there panting while Tanaka touched down not too far away.

"Not bad, boy. You're a lot more skilled than most folks give you credit for," praised the old man while stroking his beard.

Naruto furrowed his brows and focused as much chakra as he could to cancel out Tanaka's temporary body numbing technique. Naruto succeeded, thought not without considerable effort, and launched himself back onto his feet. Just as quickly, Naruto dropped right back down to dodge Tanaka's high kick. Once it passed, Naruto pushed himself back onto his feet and lashed out with a buster kick.

Tanaka caught his foot and sent Naruto spinning through the air with a twist. Naruto managed to catch himself in a sloppy handstand and boost back onto his feet with a small stumble. The blond quickly spun around only for Tanaka to press his fingertips to Naruto's throat resulting in yet another paralysis technique! Naruto struggled as hard as he was able to break it but to no avail. Tanaka's application of chakra was already making it more difficult for the blond to take in decent supplies of air. At this rate, Tanaka would exhaust Naruto's air supply to the point where he passed out. Naruto needed a counterattack and fast!

Using his left hand to try and pry Tanaka's finger's loose, Naruto whipped out the only useable move in his arsenal. A rapidly rotating sphere of chakra appeared in his palm, though Naruto intentionally held back the power so as not to accidentally kill the old man. Quickly Naruto reared back his Rasengan and thrust forward only for Tanaka to take hold of his arm mid-attack! Through all the pain and struggles from breath, Naruto smirked. The old man had walked right into his trap.

Tanaka was wide eyed when a shadow clone popped out of the ground from below for an uppercut!! During the initial distraction Naruto had caused when first creating the clones, one of them had burrowed underground to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike! Naruto's Rasengan had merely been to force Tanaka to keep his hands busy!

Hissing a curse while gaining great respect for the combat genius, Tanaka was forced to release Naruto and lean back to avoid the uppercut. Before further actions could be taken, the shadow clone vanished in a poof that further startled and disoriented Tanaka. The sudden smoke screen allowed the real Naruto to spin and hit home in Tanaka's unsuspecting chest with a solid double stomp! Tanaka cried out more in surprise than pain as he sailed backwards and skidded on his hands and knees.

Tanaka looked up to find an exhausted looking Naruto gasping for breath. The blond tiredly grinned after a moment and flashed a victory sign.

"I passed the test…"

* * *

Tanaka stared hard at the blond hair Shinobi who had somehow managed to best him.

"I passed the test," repeated Naruto while chuckling as the thrill and adrenaline left him.

That wasn't all that abandoned him. Unable to support him any longer, Naruto's legs gave in to exhaustion as well. Naruto fell facedown with a soft plop onto the grass and entered a deep, yet well deserved slumber. Tanaka approached with a certain twinkle in his eyes that seemed common in elderly men. Chuckling all the while even as he picked up and slung the boy over his shoulder.

"Well lad, it would seem that I've found an interesting student worthy of inheriting my secret techniques. With any luck, you'll not only survive the training but be able to use them."

Intending to honor his promise about getting Naruto a shot at joining the clan, Tanaka set off to get another temporary pad for the blond inside the hidden sect. Surely, it would all be worth it when he became a legend…

* * *

Hey Hey Hoo! Super Fox Aninene is here! It's big, it's bad, it's coming your way! The Chuunin exam:D

Okay, I know what you're thinking. What sort of amazing abilities did Naruto get from his pendant right? The answer. None yet, he just woke the gem up. XD (gets pelted by tomatoes) Ahem, patients guys. The abilities will come later. A more interesting highlight. A whole month of training and a chance to finally join the clan, yeah! The question is, will I let him? (Doctor evil pose)

Okay! Time for the reviews:D

DarkRavie: Thank you, thank you very much! XD I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

zerodragon: Right on! Perhaps our loveable hero will get a chance to teach emo boy a lesson, however Sasuke won't be going easy on him either if they clash. XD Oh crap! (Gets jumped by fan girls) Ahh I want to write about the exam so badly, it driving me crazy! Even now, dozens of spectacular scenes are filling my head:D

scione: Yeah! I'm so glad you said that:D

Ant Crown: lol yeah! XD That child molester deserved every single punch and kick. How cool it would be to tell every single person in sight, with a straight face, that you beat the hell out of Orochimaru. XD Tsunade is so lucky!!

Maerstab: heh, here you go. XD Stay tune for the next exciting installment. :D

freohr: Awesome, thanks for saying so:D Even after coming this far, this is still just the beginning. XD

Infernal Maelstrom: Aw, bummer. Learning the Cannon lesson too late cost me a reader. (Maybe more than one, sweat drop) Sorry about that, perhaps future fics I write will avoid that problem. Oh well…

Ppsh: You think so? I figured Domino and Elaine, at least, were pretty average back then. Perfect examples of Chuunin level Shinobi if you will. Genmaru I can understand, though. Of course, given the nature of his training style, he was pretty average too lol. Well, sorry about that. (sweat drop)

All future reviews concerning cannon: Sorry, it won't happen again. (everyone cheers)

And that's a wrap! In our next exciting installment, Tanaka gives our favorite Kitsune nin honest to goodness one on one training. Something he never experienced with an older figure before, growing up. With a month long period of intense training and everyone scrambling to prepare for Tsunade's inauguration, the times are sure to be busy.

Until the next chapter! Ta ta now!


	21. The Results and a Teaser

-1Here we are, Monday at last and the votes are in. Overall I'd say it was a very close decision for both sides. Now comes the results. In terms of reviews, there were five total. Four of them all requested that I just post the next chapter today. However, the fifth not only okayed the changes but also gave a very solid and well written reason why she/he said yes.

Now we get to the PMs which were few in number but quite determined to bring dominance to their respective sides. Clocking in with two more 'No, please post it Monday' and six 'I understand that the changes may significantly affect the fic so go ahead and make them' plus two 'It doesn't matter to me just continue to do your best with this awesome fic' it goes without saying that I'll be making the changes.

Six nays and seven yays are the final results. However, I still feel that I should give my awesome readers something and so I'll leave an important scene from the next chapter that may no longer be there once the changes are in effect. Either way, please continue to enjoy Konoha's Hidden Dragon Clan. We'll try posting the next official chapter again in thirty days time.

* * *

The very air seemed to shimmer with turbulent maelstroms of tainted energy. Naruto was sure it had nothing to do with the endless stretch of shadows over purple stones and everything to due with the heated breath hitting his back. Shaking his head in resignation, Naruto quickly spun around only to go wide eyed in shock.

Looming directly behind the blond haired boy was a five hundred foot tall living shadow. A shadow that currently was in the guise of a nine tailed fox made of pure darkness! The colossal beast had its' bluish fiery voids for eyes locked solely upon the tiny figure that was Naruto. The blond audibly gulped.

"K-k-Kyuubi?"

An ear splitting roar echoed throughout the area like thunder and Naruto only just noted that already darkened skies were beginning to fill with gloomy thunderclouds. Visibility begun dropping until only the eyes of the Bijuu imitation were visible. To make matters worse, the floor behind Naruto collapsed preventing him from fleeing back the way he came in. The only comfort he took from the situation, and it was rather small at that, was that the dark imitation of the vixen sealed in his naval was still sitting instead of preparing for a pounce or something worse. The mega fox's eye areas were constantly glued on the tiny boy in an impassive stare.

Unable to go back, Naruto steeled his nerves as best as he could and ventured forward looking braver than he truly felt. The last time Naruto had been forced to battle a replica of the actual Bijuu Queen, he had tons of help. This time however, he was on his own.

"Kyuubi, I really hope that isn't you. If it is, then the joke isn't very funny," whispered Naruto in a small voice as he cautiously approached the giant mass of darkness, not entirely sure whether the actual Kyuubi would've passed up an opportunity to try and eat him either.

Naruto had just made it within ten yards of the beast, more than close enough for it to strike if so desired, and still the Shadow Bijuu merely stared. Of course, Naruto wasn't naïve enough to think for an instant that he might be in the clear. His next footfall only served to prove that correct.

The ground beneath the dark fox groaned in protest as it shifted its' weight and rose up on all fours in a proper fighting position. Only then did Naruto understand the purpose of this trial. Able to now peer between the legs of the dark entity, the blond saw a simple doorway in the far wall behind the creatures. A doorway that was unleashing a large emission of bright white light. Light in such a place was surprising enough, to be sure, but it was the next surprise to grace Naruto's eyes that truly transfixed him.

A person, no, a young girl was advancing through the door. Someone else was here in this place with him! Someone who might just have the answers he was looking for!

That was the young Jinchuuriki's first thought. A completely different dimension from the following train of thinking that came after getting a good look at her just before she faded from view beyond the door. Though made deceptively darker by the angle of the light, the girl's lengthy hair had been as red as could be. As for her clothing, the girl appeared to be wearing a purple tunic with black pants and matching slippers. Since Naruto had only gotten a glimpse of her backside, little could be said about what her face looked like.

However, a couple of unique details still managed to fully mystify the blond haired boy. From her cranium, two lengthy appendages with reddish fur sprouted. Rabbit-like in appearance, the girl possessed truly unusual ears. But it was what was attached to her spine that truly baffled the young Jinchuuriki. Nine dangling tails that looked exactly like those of the Kyuubi swished gracefully behind her.

Now as Naruto had only seen all of this for a few seconds, his initial and completely understandable impulse was to question his own eyes. Had it been a trick of the light or was he really seeing what he thought they were? The boy wasn't given the opportunity to ponder it for long.

Not fond of being ignored it seemed, the shadow fox recalled the boy's attention with a throaty growl. That was all it took to get the boy to visibly pale once more as the weight of the dilemma took root. Fight the fox and possibly be crushed to death or rush after the mysterious girl and risk leaving his back exposed? Some choice…

"_Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!_" begun the hopeless mantra in his mind as he frantically sought out anything in the environment that might aid in slowing down this colossal monster. "I'm so not ready for this yet!"

The blond could at least admit that much to himself. Sure he had improved a great deal but frankly he was no match for this creature if it was anything like the actual Kitsune sealed in his naval. Hell, he had even been utterly annihilated when he had help from the Forth Hokage for cry it out loud! Still, Naruto found his body automatically getting into the familiar tempo that only combat could bring as he eased into a ready position. He may not be able to win but that wouldn't stop the boy from giving this bastardized version of his spiritual tenant hell.

The thought had the positive effect of calming him and allowing the spiky haired blond to truly focus just the way his body had been trained. With that true focus came subtle observations that his initial panicked state of mind hadn't allowed him to notice before. Although he couldn't mentally speak with his tenant to confirm it, small clues loudly suggested that this wasn't the true Bijuu Queen. For starters, the mega fox was noticeably smaller from what Naruto could recall of the two times that he had actually seen the Kyuubi.

Indeed it was still freaking huge, but the decrease of about a little more than half of it original's size seemed to make it a little less imposing. Secondly, though the boy wasn't sure if the creature had a life force needed to generate one, the beast harbored no killing intent at all. The mind numbing pressure of malevolent chaos that had all but paralyzed him during the Genjutsu encounter was more or less absent. But the most major difference that truly confirmed his suspicion was the presence of a large, freshly formed scar on the creature's under belly that was bluish in color. Had this truly been the Nine Tails, surely such a simple wound would have healed by now.

The beast was a fake, no doubt about it. Narrowing his eyes into a glare, Naruto briefly wondered if the injury had been caused by that mysterious girl before he charged. Naruto's leg muscles steadily swelled with primed power inducing chakra as the speed of his movement elevated to incredible heights once more. Forming the seals of the Dragon Clan as he moved, his most powerful weapon soon materialized in his hands. The Silver Sword of the Wind Dragon.

As if the chakra blade were a signal, the shadow fox roared in fury and countercharged the blur before it. Both combatants heightened their senses to the absolute peak just a split second before colliding. A massive paw came crashing down upon the boy's arrival point with peak perfect timing. The loud sound of struck earth echoed as a cloud of dust obscured the blue clad boy from sight. Not even a second later, the dust wall surged upward in quick movement before parting as said boy burst free. Landing on the Bijuu imitation's lengthy forearm, Naruto let loose a war cry while dashing along the shadow given solid form.

The fox incoherently vocalized its' outrage as it sat down on its' rear and used its' free arm to try and bush the high speed boy off as if he were a beetle. It didn't do the vulpine creature any good. A well timed high jump propelled the boy well above the beast's paw. Naruto could see the way the fox's muscles rippled slightly from the resulting impact. Had it not looked so much like pure shadow, the young Jinchuuriki could have almost sworn that he was fighting a living entity.

In any case, a deftly executed aerial skip found him vanishing from view to impale the top of the monster's paw very deeply with his sword thanks to the extra momentum. It was probably only a pinprick to the creature but it still snarled in prideful anger at being dealt the first blow. Anchoring himself in place with chakra directed to his feet, Naruto yanked his blade free resulting in just a tiny wisp of inky black smoke rising from the wound. While this went on, the giant monster had frantically tried to squash the boy on the back of his paw in a sandwich clap maneuver.

Undeterred or inhibited, Naruto sprang upwards off of the Kitsune's targeted paw directly in front of the nose of the beast. The blond imagined that if the shadow fox were indeed capable of thinking, it would've felt foolish indeed for holding its' paw so close to its' own face. Naruto skillfully scored seven vicious slashes to its' wet nose before being blown quite a distance away by a fetid roar at such close quarters.

With a bit of effort, Naruto was able to twist his body enough to land heavily on his feet. The force of the landing was still enough to make him stumble backwards into a involuntary roll that ended with him on one knee and one palm. Teeth gritted and eyes hard, Naruto buoyed his head to find a decidedly ticked off Kitsune rising back up onto all fours. Playtime, it seemed, was over for the big bad fox.

For once agreeing with the creature, Naruto rammed his sword blade first into the ground to free his hands. A steady supply of chakra begun flooding his chest and the boy was slightly made aware of a dull heat in that same general area as he ended the seal sequence with the tiger. The fox charged.

"Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

A heavy barrage of fireballs launched repeatedly from the small boy's mouth in the direction of the incoming Bijuu. Fully aware that the bastard fox was much too large to really be affected by the simple Ninjutsu, Naruto wisely targeted the beast's face and eyes. The fake Kyuubi wildly bucking it's head about was all the evidence Naruto needed to know he has struck his mark true.

No time was wasted as Naruto seized his sword once more and accelerated his movement to max to take advantage of the golden opportunity he had gained. Still trying to shake the momentary blindness out of its' eyes, the shadow fox remained unaware of Naruto's ascension along its' arm until the pint sized kid leaped directly into its' giant ear. A sharp and admittedly painful assault on the Bijuu's eardrum followed resulting in a true howl of real pain.

The beast was frantic and bound forward with huge strides towards the nearest walls while inky black smoke poured out of his invaded ear. Unceremoniously, the snarling and whimpering beast struck the wall with a full blown head butt that caused the area to shake. When that didn't cease the barrage of sword blows to the interior of the Kitsune's ear, the giant vixen copy begun banging its' head over and over again repeatedly and desperately. Damn it all, the attacks really hurt!

Naruto himself was more concerned about the inky blobs of what looked like earwax as he held a deep breath while hacking away at anything in the creature's ear that looked sensitive. The need for holding his breath being due to the thick cloud of smoke flooding the giant tunnel of tissue and ear bones. So far, Naruto had been blindly hitting things for the last one thousand swings before he stopped counting. As a result, his sword was shiny bright with the largest amount of pent up energy he had ever seen.

Naruto knew without a doubt that the main attack of his weapon would have no problem bringing a new world of hurt to his otherworldly opponent. That was why he was trying to last as long as possible on that precious breath of air as he struck repeatedly and strengthened the attack even further. He was already nearing his limit but the wait would surely be worth it, wouldn't it? The boy was more than determined to find out.

His lungs finally beginning to call for fresher air, Naruto raised his glowing chakra blade over head and set his expression to one of focused determination…

The fox imitation was still desperately slamming its' head against the wall without concern for personal safety when it dimly registered that the chaos of pain in its' ear had lessened for a few seconds. Just as the Bijuu was going to look about its' surroundings in search for the boy that it hoped had been dislodged from its' ear, a massive pressure invaded its' skull. With it came literal mind numbing pain as the howling of wind echoed in the shadow's head.

A giant and surprisingly blue colored tongue lopped free of the creature's mouth. It was then that the beast's eyes grew wide as a sizable portion of the right side of its' head begun swelling as if a tumor were trying to force space in its' head. A sharp intake of breath later, the right ear and a large chunk of the side of the shadow's head surged outward in a gruesome explosion of black smoke! A high speed funnel of chakra infused wind followed whistling and howling from the gaping hole in the beast's head!

Five seconds later, a dark blue blur shot backwards out of the smoke. Naruto's expression was tired but victorious and it showed in the feral fox grin he wore as he freefell. Just before making use of the aerial skip to safely touchdown upon the ground, Naruto double thrust both hands forward and flashed the mutilated Bijuu both of his middle fingers.

"Jackpot, bitch!"

A resounding boom reverberated for quite a time as the mega fox dropped onto its' left flank and laid panting on its' side with increasingly slowing breathing. Bad luck on its' part for being unable to copy the real Kyuubi's regenerating abilities.

Naruto waited, breathing heavily and fully on guard, for what felt like an eternity for the shadow's breathing to stop altogether. Only then did the blond haired youth grasp his knees and hang his head while panting. Like always, prolonged used of his best move was ridiculously draining. In all honesty, the kid wasn't sure what he would've done if his brilliantly crazy plan hadn't worked. He was just grateful that the ordeal was over at last.

For a few minutes, Naruto rewarded his body with some much needed rest before straightening up and shifting his gaze to the only exit in sight. The door that the mysterious woman had used earlier still shone just as brightly as ever with no concern for the defeat of its' guardian. Not wanting to spend another moment longer than he had to in this strange place, the young Jinchuuriki made to approach it only to freeze at the sudden scratching of sharp nails on a hard surface sounding behind him.

Naruto had no opportunity to react. A large tail crashed into him from behind with rib shattering force that drew a pained cry from the targeted victim. Naruto slammed hard into the stone wall in front of him and was promptly pinned their by the furry feeling appendance pressed to his throbbing back. The boy didn't need to see the owner to know that Foxy-teme wasn't through with him yet. The oversized bastard had been playing possum!

Naruto could feel the heavy weight on his back slowly crushing his chest to the wall and had to grit his teeth to cope with the pain. However, the boy's arms had been left free. That was all he needed to try and turn the tides on his literally half brain-dead foe. His favorite seal was quickly formed.

"Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" the boy sound with the small bit of oxygen he forced to his lungs.

Naruto didn't bother to ponder the just now noticed fact that he and his large playmate seemed to have corporeal bodies in this place that hardly seemed to apply to the laws of reality. Nor did he bother to comprehend how he was able to use chakra. All that mattered was breaking free so that a little more nine tailed butt whipping could be administered to this brute.

One hundred and twenty-three Narutos materialized from clouds of smoke and shot forward all at once to land perfectly synchronized kicks to the Bijuu's lower muzzle. Practically as good as an uppercut from someone its' own size, the mega fox's head snapped backwards causing it to topple over onto its' back. The real Naruto wasted no time in escaping with a little help from his clones just as the beast scrambled back onto all fours.

Furious, a deadly swath was cut through the clone army as it used every single limb it possessed to try and destroy them all. Tiny little blond haired children were swarming its' body like the insects of the Aburame Clan as the beast swiped, smashed, roared and smacked at anything that moved. With half a brain gone, it was about as intelligent as a the creature who's form it vaguely resembled. Not nearly as challenging it seemed.

All nine of the creature's tails were stabbing out like over agitated snakes, each trying to home in on the heart of any clone in their paths. The result was a chaotic disorder of numerous platoons of tiny blue clad blurs dodging with minimal lost for Naruto's side and maximum irritation for the giant woodland creature. Irritation that served to further heighten when one of the pests appeared in a flash atop its' snout. A familiar feeling of déjà vu overcame the boy who was in fact the real one standing on the shadow mass's nose.

From the way Naruto thrust his fist forward to the way his gaze held steady to the creature's own. Just as he said to the Kyuubi within Jiraiya's Genjutsu, the silent message was clear. Naruto was going to take this stuffed animal down. So it was, the colossus was made to suffer quite a bit when the seemingly random movement of the blond annoyances revealed their true nature. Distracted by the boy on its' snout, most of the clones moved unhampered to the large blue scar on the vulpine shadow's breast.

Readying dozens of primed exploding tags, one of Naruto's favorite tactics was put to play once more via a chain reaction of over two hundred suicidal detonations. True pain sounded in the Kyuubi's voice as the largest smoke cloud of all engulfed the site of the conflagration zone. Naruto stumbled slightly to his knees due to the sudden shaken of the Kyuubi imitation brought on by wobbly limbs. The Bijuu was panting and its' single remaining eye was fighting slightly to stay open. From the looks of it, Naruto had successfully nailed a critical weak point!

Convinced that the beast was of no further threat, Naruto sprang backwards off of the thing's nose into a perfect moon vault. Naruto's gaze remained narrowed in warning as he dropped the reasonable distance back to ground level. Only a tiny bit painful, the boy rose to his full height without problems. Other than following his every move with its' eyes and growling a little, the Bijuu remained stationary. Smoke steadily continued to billow from the chest wound speaking volumes for Naruto's improvement as a Shinobi.

Of course, the satisfaction it brought on was small. Naruto knew that he was still far from a match for the true Queen of Bijuu. This petty imitation was nothing at all by comparison but still not to be sneezed at either. Guard up, Naruto slowly begun to retreat backwards to the illuminated exit he knew was somewhere behind him. That had been a mistake.

Within every living creature there exists the most basic of survival needs. Be it the hunter or the hunted, the warrior or cadet and even the strong and the weak, that instinct reined. Based on that principal, any event in which the possibility of death raises its' head will peak that basic instinct to the surface during mortal combat. Therefore, all who are existing on the brink of death during times of strife always deliver the last blow with all of their soul behind it. As such, Naruto found himself on the receiving end of just such an attack.

The Kyuubi roared again, but this time it seemed to have something besides feral rage in mind. Very small at first, a tiny sphere of jet black chakra materialized in front of the Kitsune's mouth. Swiveling each one of its' lengthy tails, the tips of its' swaying appendages hovered above the orb of energy. Slowly, the tiny ball begun to swell as smaller black spheres from its' own body begun to collect and merge within the maw of the beast.

Naruto found himself warily backing up with a stunned expression schooling his features. The ball may have been small, but the power and pressure it radiated was anything but small. The boy had never felt so much concentrated energy in his life!

"_Damn it! Whatever he's planning to do with that thing is out of my league! If I get hit I'm toast!_" thought the blond fearfully as the fox ultimately claimed the advantage.

By this point, the orb had achieved roughly the size of a small house. Apparently satisfied with its' bulk, the fox did the strangest thing. Opening its' mouth impossibly wide, the giant woodland creature swallowed it whole! Then the most bizarre sight of all befell Naruto's bright blue orbs. The thin beast expanded in size until he looked as if he could pass as a convincing Garfield with black fur. The fat fox then gave a rather creepy grin and crouched down low to take proper aim. The titanic paws causing large craters to form in the purple mineral stone that passed as the floor.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" repeated the boy once papa fox opened its' mouth to reveal a bright light much like a warming up cannon gun.

Speed or no speed, the boy knew that he would have no chance of escape. Life could be such a bitch…

The bright light of Kyuubi's attack reached its' climax. Likewise Naruto grimly removed his chakra sealing band, held up his right hand and waited as chakra steadily begun building up into a high speed humming ball of energy. The tattoo of the wind dragon bled into existence on the back of his wrist once more. The tiny orb was all but useless in this situation but since it was clear that he was going to die anyway, again, there was no reason not to try and defend himself to the best of his ability.

"Bring on your poison," Naruto whispered just as the beast let loose and fired.

To say that the wannabe fox demon's attack was not beautiful would have been a flat out lie. The massive white beam of speeding power glittered beautifully from the dancing swirl of energy particles snaking around it. The width of the blast was easily just as far spread as Konohagakure and more than twice as large as the castor itself.

Naruto reared back his Rasengan arm with the acknowledgement that while death would probably suck, at least he wouldn't go out in an unsightly manner. In mere seconds, the rapidly thinning fox's attack had entered range. Naruto quickly acted.

"Shuno no Rasengan!" the blond cried, his arms already in motion.

The wind dragon joined the Spiraling Sphere on contact with the opposing energy source inciting a one sided power struggle between wind element energy and the epitome of destruction. Naruto further braced himself by having his left hand support his violently trembling right arm as he steadily slid backwards to the waiting wall. The boy knew that once his back made contact with the stone wall it would all be over and that the only reason he had yet to barbeque into ash was due to using every last drop of chakra he could squeeze out in his defense.

Even then, the two tremendous heat sources were already beginning to make the skin on his palm and arms peel to expose bloody flesh. The boy's teeth were clenched fully in pain and yet there was no way he was giving up until the very end. That end was drawing ever closer as he continued to slide back with increasing speed. Five seconds was all the time he had left and so Naruto spent them delving within his most intimate memories…

* * *

Okay! This is Aninene, signing off!


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